News
BREAKING: Finally, Aiyedatiwa takes charge in Ondo *Presides over Exco meeting
Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Deputy Governor would on Thursday morning preside over the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, for the first time in the last three months since the return of Rotimi Akeredolu, the state Governor from Germany, where he spent three months on medical tourism.
In what seems a new turn in the peace process being sought in the political climate in the state, which saw the warring camps of Akeredolu, who has stayed back in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital since his return September this year, making their case before President Bola Tinubu at the weekend, could become the panacea for eventual calm.
Aiyedatiwa, who only barely survived impeachment by members of the state House of Assembly, who accused him of using funds meant for the state’s share of the petroleum subsidy released by the Federal Government to purchase his official vehicle, an act termed as gross misconduct, has been insisting on taking charge as Acting Governor,
Despite the intervention of Tinubu, who ordered that the status quo be maintained, meaning that neither Akeredolu nor Aiyedatiwa should lose their job, the insistence of the deputy governor that he must be declared the Acting Governor, given the inability of his boss to preside over the affairs of the governance of the state due to his absence, had created tensions in the state.
Allowing the deputy governor preside over the meeting, could be a way of pacifying him and persuading him and his supporters and saving the state from plunging into full scale political conflagration, in a state known for its volatile nature, which had in the past political history of the South West, led in some of the serious upheavals.
The Nation, reports that regardless of the latest development, some elite are kicking against the resolution at the meeting presided over by Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, where the deputy governor, was reportedly mandated to submit an undated letter of resignation, apparently to whip him into line.
Concerned Elite of Ondo State, led by Olanrewaju Akeredolu, was said to have faulted the resolution that Aiyedatiwa should sign a post-dated letter of resignation, which was read on the floor of the House of Assembly by Speaker Olamide Oladiji, saying that Tinubu could not have given an order that contradicted the letter and spirit of the constitution.
It also, while chiding the Speaker over his alleged action, also accused him of twisting facts to suit a certain interest by asserting that there was no agreement to transfer power to Aiyedatiwa, arguing that it was unconstitutional to ask unelected political office holders to monitor elected official
The paper, which quoted Commissioner for Information and Orientation Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, as confirming that the scheduled meeting, would be presided over by Aiyedatiwa as “vice chairman,” said he did not confirm whether the deputy governor had returned to the state from Abuja, where he had been holing up since his impeachment saga began few weeks ago.
“Exco meeting will be held about three months after the last meeting was held in Ibadan, presided over by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, when he returned from medical vacation in September. The exco meeting that will be held on Thursday shows that everyone is sticking with the resolution reached with Tinubu. All that we are focused on is the development of Ondo State, and that should be paramount in the minds of all of us at the moment,” a source was quoted as saying.
Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor of Oyo State, on Thursday, finally threw his hats into the ring by declaring his intention to run for president in 2027, with a message – history beckons.
The governor, whose ambition has been a matter of speculations for months now and who had teamed up with forces angling to force President Bola Tinubu, out of power, told a teeming crowd in Ibadan on Thursday that time had come to reset Nigeria.
At a mega-rally to announce the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement, (APM), Makinde, expressed worry over the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians, vowing to engage Nigerians to end the drift.
Hear him: “Without a multi-party system, there is no democracy. Where is our multi-party? Where do we go from here? We have been pushed to the wall.
“They calculated and self-opposition cannot unite but I am here to say that the opposition is the everyday Nigerian. This is the time for all us to ensure Nigeria works for us. This is the time to confront it fears. It is time to engage as citizens and not spectators.
“For the opposition political parties, this is the time to unite and work in unity and give our nation the much reset it needs. The time to reset Nigeria is now. Ibadan is the city of warriors. The first grand alliance is formed. The PDP and APM is formed. This handshake will allow us to field candidates from presidency to state Assembly. And so, I declare my candidacy for office of the president of Nigeria.”
Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), on Wednesday, gave a detailed account on how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) manhandled him on Monday.
He told reporters that he was at sea on why he should fall victim to the assault against his person and eventually arrested given that was not right person directly involved in the information the agency sought.
Some operatives of the EFCC who invaded the hospital, had whisked Ekpe away after firing teargas to scare away the workers, patients and visitors to the hospital, following what appeared like a fracas the ensued over what it claimed was a routine duty in the facility.
Ekpe, Deputy Chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), described how an operative had first entered his office to make inquiries on why the hospital was yet to give a response to an EFCC inquiry over a medical report linked to a suspect facing trial.
He detailed how he briefed the operative that the said response was being prepared and even went ahead to show him the draft of a letter in that regard, which needed to go through the gamut of official endorsement before being released.
Hear him: “The head of that internal medicine department looked at the report and also discovered that the name of the doctor that signed the report is not a member of staff of that department.
“I had prepared prepared a response to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026, based on the findings. When the EFCC operative visited my office the next morning to collect the document, I told him that the response was ready in draft. I even showed him the draft, but told him that the document still needed approval from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital before it could be officially signed and released.
“He pretended to have accepted that. He left, but later later returned with another armed operative and informed me that I was under arrest. I asked him why. I was not the one that issued the medical report. My name is not on the medical report. The report was not issued from my unit.
“But he said I would get the answer when I get to their office. I then asked him to at least wait for my staff member who I sent on an errand before joining them. But they refused.
“They started pushing me. They dragged me out of the office. Then I began to cry while they were dragging me. They had warned me not to speak. They had taken my phone. My cry as they were dragging me, attracted the workers to the scene, who enquired what was going on, but because they ordered me not to speak, I couldn’t say anything. They had their guns.
The members of staff of the hospital initially blocked them from taking me away. They then made a call. After that I saw many masked and armed men came violently, broke the protector, threatening the people that were around and people ran away.
“They picked some staff that were still by me. they dragged me and other staff, five of us into their van downstairs. By that time they discovered that the gate of the hospital were locked. So, they drove towards the gate and packed and the commotion continued. We were inside the van.
“I was so emotionally and psychologically traumatised that I couldn’t even look out of the vehicle to see what was happening outside. But I know that teargas and live bullets were shot. That’s all I can say for now.”
Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, heard on Wednesday, how Zenith Bank raised alarm over the huge transaction in one of its branches by Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ).
The bank said it immediately filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect to the transactions, during its appearance in the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, and son over allegation of massive looting of funds belonging to the Federal Government during his tenure.
Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with the bank, who appeared as witness in the case, where Malami, et al, are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N8.7 billion, to which they pleaded not guilty, gave the testimony while being questioned on the bank’s roles in the matter.
Details of the testimony conveyed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated how the compliance officer who was cross-examined by Adebayo Adedeji, lawyer to the defendants admitted that the deposits in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Arguments had stretched when Adedeji, opposed Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lawyer to the EFCC, who had asked the witness to explain the meaning of a suspicious transaction report, stressing that there was no ambiguity in the term.
However, Okutepa, in response, maintained that section 215(3) of the Evidence Act did not preclude him from re-examining the witness while urging the court to allow the question for proper explanation.
After Abdulmalik, agreed and overruled Adedeji, the witness told the court that banks were required to alert the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about fund deposits coming in a repetitive pattern, adding: “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU.”
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