The Ondo State government has denounced the report, attributed to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, regarding the health of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the government has labelled the report as wicked, mischievous, and insensitive journalism.
Several media outlets quoted the APC chairman as stating that Governor Akeredolu was incapacitated and receiving medical treatment abroad.
Adamu reportedly made these remarks during a meeting between the national APC leadership and state chairmen in Abuja on Monday.
However, in a swift response, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, issued a statement in Akure, the state capital, clarifying that the chairman’s words were taken out of context.
Ademola-Olateju stated in the release, “At no time did the Chairman mention that the Governor was in a state of ‘extreme incapacity’.”
The statement continued, “The headline, ‘Akeredolu in state of extreme incapacity, hospitalized,’ carried a tint of the usual mischievous, wicked, and insensitive reportage, sponsored by desperate politicians.”
“The Chairman of the APC in Ondo State, Engineer Ade Adetimehin, who attended the meeting, has debunked the report as untrue and totally disconnected from the statement of the Chairman at the event.
“The National Chairman was indeed excited at the reports on the rate of recovery of the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, and urged all those present at the meeting to pray for his quick return.
“It, therefore, smacks of mischief and unabashed abandonment of professional ethics for a reporter to present this gross misrepresentation, a mischievous twist, as news.
“At no time did the Chairman mention that the Governor was in a state of “extreme incapacity”.
“He is, evidently, not in any critical state that should warrant this clearly reprehensible conduct as he still sent a post to the Executive Council Committee platform yesterday.
“Members of the public are advised to ignore this news as the contents therein exist in the realm of the imagination of workers of iniquity,” Ademola-Olateju added.
The commissioner criticized the journalist responsible for the misrepresentation, deeming it an abandonment of professional ethics and an intentional twist of the news.
He further clarified that the governor is not in a critical state, as evidenced by his recent post on the Executive Council Committee platform. Ademola-Olateju advised the public to dismiss the news as it stems from the imagination of those seeking to cause turmoil.
The commissioner declared, “Mr. Governor is NOT incapacitated. He will return to his duty as soon as the doctors certify him fully fit to do so.”
It is worth noting that this newspaper previously reported that Governor Akeredolu had written to the state assembly on Monday, requesting an extension of his medical leave. The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Olamide Oladiji, confirmed receiving the letter and explained that the request was based on doctors’ advice for the governor to take sufficient rest after his recovery.
In his letter, Akeredolu stated that his deputy, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, would continue to act as governor until a written declaration stating otherwise is issued.
Governor Akeredolu had initially informed the Assembly, in a letter dated June 5, 2023, about his medical leave and was expected to resume his duties on July 6, 2023.
