A family source revealed this on Wednesday that Akeredolu died in Lagos.

Report has it that he was managed by State House doctors up to his death because they could not fly him abroad.

“Akeredolu is dead; he died in Lagos,” the source said.

“They were looking for dialysis machines to be sent to his secret location in Lagos last week.”

The ailing governor returned to Nigeria in September following a three-month medical leave in Germany and only recently proceeded on another one after he was directed by President Bola Tinubu to hand over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

His deputy, Aiyedatiwa has been standing in as Acting Governor.

Following his return to Nigeria in September, Akeredolu stayed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and tried to govern his state from there, leading to public outrage.

On July 9, Akeredolu’s wife, Betty announced the suspension of activities lined up to celebrate her 70th birthday.

The Ondo first lady announced the suspension of the activities in Twitter posts after questions were raised over plans to have a fanfare despite her husband’s ill health.

“Hello Family and Friends. This is to inform you that all activities lined up to mark my 70th birthday are hereby suspended till further notice due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control. Sorry for any inconvenience caused by this development.”

“Nevertheless, be assured that I will be celebrated in style upon my return. Thank you for your understanding. I remain Arabinrin a.k.a Ada Owere I,” she tweeted.

The death was confirmed by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Richard Olatunde, in a statement issued on Thursday.

According to the statement, the deceased passed on “peacefully in her sleep early this (Thursday) morning. Mama was 90 years.”

The statement read, “She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other family members.

“Further announcements will be made by the family in due course.”

Akeredolu alleged that the Federal Government was playing the ostrich by abandoning states to their fates concerning the security of lives and property of the people but rather empowering some private security outfits in the country.

The governor stated this in a statement he issued through his Chief Press Secretary on Wednesday. This was in reaction to the recent purported award of contracts by the Federal Government to some private security outfits to protect the pipelines from being vandalised.

According to the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, the action of the FG has implied that it permitted
private security outfits “to bear heavy assault weapons while denying the same privilege to the states, the federating units,” to tackle insecurity.

The statement read in part, “The news concerning the purported award of pipeline contracts to some individuals and private organisations by the Federal Government has been unsettling. More disquieting is the barely disguised hostility displayed against either the idea or the actual establishment of security outfits by some State Governments to fill the widening gaps in the scope of security coverage noticeable nationally.

The Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser, has been consistent in its refusal to accede to the request by some states in the Federation to strengthen the complementary initiatives adopted to protect lives and property. This is done in spite of the knowledge that the very issues which necessitated the creation of these outfits support providing adequate weaponry. All attempts to persuade the Federal Government to look critically into the current security architecture have been rebuffed despite the manifest fundamental defects engendered by over-centralisation.

“It is, therefore, shocking to read that the Federal Government has maintained the award of the contract to ‘protect’ the country’s pipeline from vandals to private organisations. This story, if true, leaves a sour taste in the mouth. The NSA will, obviously, not advise the President to approve the award of a contract of such magnitude if the operators have not displayed sufficient capacity to checkmate the criminal activities of equally powerful groups. Consequently, it is safe to conclude that the Federal Government has, impliedly, permitted non-state actors to bear heavy assault weapons while denying the same privilege to the states, the federating units.”

The governor added, “The award of contract to private organisations to protect pipelines raise fundamental questions on the sincerity of the advisers of the government on security issues. The open and seeming enthusiastic embrace of this oddity, despite the constant and consistent avowal of the readiness by the security agencies, in particular, the navy to contain the pervasive and deepening crises of breaches and threats to lives and property, attracts the charge of insincerity bordering, deplorably, on dubiety.

“If the state governments, which are keenly desirous of protecting their citizens, establish ancillary security outfits and there has been pronounced reluctance, if not outright refusal, to consider permitting them to bear arms for the sole purpose of defence, granting private individuals and or organisations unfettered access to assault weapons suggests, curiously, deep-seated suspicion and distrust between the Federal Government and the presumed federating units.

“The engagement of private organisations to handle serious security challenges reinforces the belief that the whole defence architecture in the country needs an urgent overhaul. The Federal Government cannot be seen to be playing the ostrich in this regard.”

The governors include Kayode Fayemi; Rotimi Akeredolu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Ekiti, Ondo, and Lagos States respectively.

Others in their entourage include the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Biodun Oyebanji; former Ekiti State governor and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Ayodele Fayose, among others.

It was learnt that Wike, who lost the PDP presidential ticket to Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is meeting with the APC chieftains and others at his country home in the Port Harcourt area of the state.

As of the time of this report, the purpose of the visit by APC governors and the subsequent meeting with their host is unknown.

But it appears the APC governors may want to bank on the recent fallout of Wike with PDP leadership after the main opposition party’s presidential primary to woo the Rivers governor to their side ahead of the 2023 presidential election

This is sequel to the recent state government’s decision to return the schools to some religious organisations in the state.

Akeredolu, while receiving the newly-inaugurated executives of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, led by Rev Fr Anselm Ologunwa, named St Thomas Aquinas College, St Louis Girls Grammar School, among the schools his administration had returned to their original owners.

Speaking with journalists in Akure, on Wednesday, on the development, the Chairman League of Imams and Alfas for Ondo State Muslim Community, Sheikh Ahmad Aladsawe, said handing over the schools to the faith-based organisations would not do any good to the state’s educational sector.

Aladsawe stated that the governor’s action would amount to returning the nation to the dark period in the history of educational development when educational institutions were used as tools in the hands of the religious bigots for forceful conversion and intimidation of the masses.

He stated, “Ondo State Government, for the sake of posterity, the unborn generation, the development of the state and even for the sake of the traumatised and impoverished masses, should not return schools to the faith-based organisations under any banner or guise.

“This is because of its daring consequences as more children will be thrown out of schools because their parents will not be able to afford the fees to be charged by such organisations

As at now more than 80 per cent of the students on enrolment are on the register of public schools, their parents are at the mercy of the government to provide qualitative and affordable education for their children. What will be the plight of such parents and their children, considering the fact that more than 70 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line?”

The chairman urged the state government to rather build more schools, improve on existing educational infrastructures, improve on the educational personnel, especially the teaching staff, as well as provide adequate teaching and instructional materials, rather than transferring the schools to any group.

The group, however, threatened to take legal action against the government if it failed to yield to the demands of the Muslim community.

“If the governor goes ahead to return schools to their so-called original owners after acquisition, full compensation and huge investment, using our hard-earned resources (tax), then we will have no option than to seek redress, using every legal and constitutional means available to us as a cardinal member of the Ondo State Community with a vested interest in the educational development of our dear sunshine state,” Aladesawe declared

The defunct CPC bloc is made up of politicians to merge with the Action Congress of Nigeria to form the APC in 2013 before he won the 2015 presidential election.

A former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, who is running for the national secretary of the APC; and the Executive Director, Niger Delta Power Holding, Ife Oyedele, were being resisted by the APC governors in the South-West.

It was also learnt that a former Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Iyiola Omisore, might be endorsed as the national secretary ahead of a former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, Zaccheus Adedeji.

Also, Dayo Israel was tipped to emerge as the national youth leader of the APC. Sources said that the unity list of the South-West governors was expected to be released in the coming days.

A top source in the APC said, “There are attempts by some people in Abuja to impose some of the CPC elements on the South-West. Let me restate that the governors are the leaders of the party. We have met and have micro-zoned the positions given to our region.We will not tolerate any interference from outside. Shittu, Oyedele and others have lost out completely.”

In a statement on Sunday, Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who is also the Chairman, South-West Governors’ Forum, said the governors had agreed on micro-zoning, adding that those scheming from outside the region were only trying to cause confusion.

Akeredolu said in the statement titled, ‘External forces trying to impose persons on South-West’, that a former Chairman of the APC in the state, Isaac Kekemeke, had been endorsed as the national vice chairman for the South-West.

The statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, stated that all the governors of the South-West had endorsed Kekemeke.

It read in part, “This is to confirm that one of our own, the former APC state chairman, Duerimini Isaac Kekemeke, is in the race for the position of the National Vice-Chairman (South-West). Kekemeke has the full backing of Governor Akeredolu and his brother governors in the South-West.It should be noted that critical stakeholders in the South-West had earlier micro-zoned the positions that were brought to the region. Among these were the national vice-chairman, which was retained in Ondo, and the secretary, which was micro-zoned to the Oyo/Osun axis.For emphasis, what we are going for is national vice-chairman with Kekemeke as our candidate, and not national secretary. Those outside the South-West, who are attempting to micro-zone our offices for us in the South-West, are only creating unnecessary confusion and any such of their permutations outside the decision of stakeholders in the South-West should be ignored.”

Akeredolu said this while speaking at a two-day retreat programme for political office holders and accounting officers in Owo, the headquarters of the Owo Local Government Area of the state.

The governor, who disclosed that many investors had shown interest in the project, said the seaport, when completed, would not only serve Nigeria but the whole of West Africa sub-region.

He said, “There is a contradiction in our federalism. We have a system where there must be a port declaration by the federal executive council before you proceed. I have always wondered about the port is in my state, and I have people who are prepared to invest. But the Federal Government is holding on to the port declaration. I believe that states should be left to determine their deep seaport and the investors. For us as a state, we have been at this since our first day in government. We found out that we have the deepest draft in Ondo State. Our port, we will go ahead. Nothing will stop it, it is a matter of time. It is a port, not only for Nigeria but for West Africa because of its deepest draft. How do we finance it? I travelled; I spoke to Dubai port. I spoke to China harbour. Dubai port has even written that they are interested. Our dream for this port in Ondo State is to serve as a conduit for our goods, agricultural produce and very soon, our bitumen. It is the goal of this administration to ensure that the potential of Ondo State is maximised and that all necessary infrastructure required to make this a reality is put in place to achieve this.”

In his remark, the former Group Managing Director of Access Bank and founder of Africa Initiative for Governance, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, commended the leadership style of Akeredolu, saying the governor had demonstrated enlightened leadership with the manner he continued with some projects and programmes of the past administration

The Governor had earlier raise the alarm after the soldiers were withdrawn from the correctional centres days ago, saying it was an aberration and an undue security risk, adding that it could encourage jailbreaks.

With the soldiers returned to the correctional centres, Akeredolu, in a statement signed his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, on Saturday, hailed the Nigerian Army for allowing good reasoning to prevail in the interest of the people.

“We note the return of soldiers to the correctional centres as concerting. The security of lives and property of our people remain an onerous task that must be carried out without hesitation or sentiment.A federal facility like the correctional centre should not have been left without deserving security for any reason. However, the return of the soldiers to the facilities is a positive development.

Both the Nigerian Army and the correctional centres belong to the Federal Government. There must be continuous synergy. We will also continue to do our best to give the necessary support when the need arises,” Akeredolu was quoted as saying.

The governor imposed the curfew a few days ago following the communal clashes which ensued between two factions in the community

In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Olabode Olatunde, on Saturday stated, “The decision of the governor was to allow schools in the town to reopen so as to complete the academic year; more so as schools are scheduled to begin the end of the term exams soon. Notwithstanding the lifting of the curfew, security agencies have been directed to monitor the situation in the town closely and impose sanctions on any breach of security and public peace,”

This is as he noted that Amotekun Corps is a product of circumstance which is essentially created to fill the obvious security gap in the state for the security of all, adding that it has brought relative peace to the state.

According to a statement on his Facebook page, Akeredolu said this when he played host to the participants of Course 30 of the National Defence College, Abuja, led by the Commandant, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s office.

The statement said Akeredolu who particularly commended the military for ensuring peace and security in the country, equally disclosed that his administration has enjoined necessary support and cooperation from all heads of security agencies in the state including the Army, Police, NSCDC, DSS, NIA and others.

“So, we must make sure we tackle it. You kidnap to the extent that you killed a first class monarch; this is very bad. As a government, we owe it a duty to secure the lives and property of our people,” he emphasised.

According to the statement, “The Governor insisted that no genuine herders would graze his herds of cow with AK-47, just as he said any herder who destroys any farmland in the state would be made to pay compensation to the affected farmer. He also added that Amotekun Corps is now engaging in road patrol to further ensure the security of lives and property of all residents across the state. “Governor Akeredolu also said many states in the country have signed Anti-Open Grazing laws to protect the people and their means of livelihood, just as he insisted that the issue of grazing routes would not work in the country because the country can no longer continue to live in the past. He stressed that the country needed a multi-levelled policing with special attention to state police to effectively secure the lives and property of the citizens. Earlier, the Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, who lauded the Governor for his security and industrial strides recorded so far, expressed confidence that the products of the participants’ research would go a long way to assist in policy inputs towards delivery of good governance and ensure security of the state.He particularly applauded the Governor for the way he handled the issue of farmers/herders clashes in the state to ensure peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders