Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State seemed to have stirred up the hornet’s nest over his administration’s decision to probe the cause of death of former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu by conducting a coroner’s inquest.
The state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kayode Ajulo, had disclosed that some concerned groups and citizens within and outside the state had submitted petitions to the Ministry of Justice seeking the invocation of a coroner’s inquest.
Ajulo, however, claimed that the petitioners did not disclose their identities, adding that the widow of the late Akeredolu, Betty, and others were suspected by the petitioners of being behind the demise of the former governor.
Akeredolu died in December 2023 after succumbing to prostate cancer, an ailment he battled for a long time during his tenure as governor of the Sunshine State.
Among the leading critics of the government’s move are a former minister of state for transportation, Ademola Adegoroye, who advised the governor to drop the idea in the interest of peace in the state. He described as unthinkable the government’s endorsement of the exhumation of late Akeredolu’s body.
The Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Ondo West LGA of the state described the government’s plan as “insensitive and provocative ” The party went further to say that the move was an affront to the legacy and family of the late governor, adding that it suspected the state government might be using state resources to settle personal or political scores.
Across the state, everyone seems to believe that the planned coroner is indeed a ploy by the Aiyedatiwa’s administration to settle personal scores.
The questions begging for answers include why the government is making such a move now; who stands to benefit from Akeredolu’s death, and who are the faceless petitioners? The government needs to find answers to these questions to douse the tension the matter has generated.
Meanwhile, the planned coroner’s inquest is the latest in the series of battles between the Akeredolu family and his successor, Aiyedatiwa. Even while he was on his deathbed, the two parties never pretended that there was a love lost between them. At the root of the battle at the time was the need to step in and take over the reign of office from a governor who had generally been termed ‘incapacitated’. While the battle dragged on, the law of ‘necessity’ was brought into the discussion.
At the time, Akeredolu’s family, particularly his wife, Betty, threw caution to the wind and attacked Aiyedatiwa viciously, describing him in several unprintable words. Eventually, her husband’s death put a sudden end to the succession battle as Aiyedatiwa, who was deputy governor then, was sworn in to replace Akeredolu.
Akeredolu’s death was expected to bring a peaceful cessation to the battle, but that was not the case. Betty has consistently attacked Aiyedatiwa whenever the opportunity presents itself.
The recent demolition of the Owo Memorial Park presented Mrs Akeredolu with an opportunity to attack the governor again. The park was built by Akeredolu in honour of the victims of the June 5, 2022, terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, where over 40 people died. Betty described the demolition as an attempt to erase her husband’s legacy.
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