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| Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu |
As criticism continued to trail the appointment of Babajide Akeredolu by his father, governor Rotimi Akeredolu as the Director General of Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit ( PPIMU), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo state has asked him to declare his assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Governor Akeredolu had appointed and sworn in his son alongside other 14 commissioners and Special Advisers last week in the state.
But the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kennedy Peretei in a statement in Akure said that “Now that Babajide Akeredolu has become a public servant, it is now mandatory for him to declare his assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau.
“He has to do so at the beginning and end of his tenure as DG, PPMIU. “He is under the law, He is expected to declare where he ever worked before his father was elected as Governor for him to have acquired such assets.
“Babajide’s father is a lawyer, l expect him to know that, any of his properties not captured in his Code of Conduct Assets Declaration forms will be forfeited to the Federal Government.
“lt is more than three weeks that Mr Governor’s son took office as DG in the Ondo State public service. By now he should have completed his Assets Declaration forms.
“If he has not done so, it is in his best interest to do so with alacrity. “It must be noted that Akeredolu made history on the wrong side by being the first governor to appoint his son to a powerful position that is not recognised by law.
“In total defiance of the uproar that accompanied this abuse of office, Akeredolu has gone ahead to swear in his son.
“ln March, 2020 at the third anniversary of his tenure, Akeredolu actually sounded out the leadership of his party as to what he intended to do with Babajide, who he fondly calls “Baba” which means father in Yoruba language.
He said “When somebody says Baba (Babajide) is this, l just laugh at them. If l wanted to make Baba my Chief of Staff, he can be, did you do more than him in the campaign? Ask yourself how many of you did more than Baba in the campaign? How many?
“The young boy was going everywhere and all of us saw him…… I will put him somewhere, there is nothing anybody can do. I will put him there, there is nothing anybody can do. Is he not my son? Is he not from Ondo State? Has he not worked?”.
“This was when the foundation for the illegal appointment was laid.Unfortunately, from the Governor’s own account, the son’s only contribution was that he went everywhere with him during the campaigns. He should have been at home watching television as heir apparent.
“For him to deliver the entire processes of procurement, projects design, implementation and evaluation of the Governor’s office to a young man without any cognate experience other than following his father during campaigns is the level Akeredolu has reduced governance in the State.
“How many of such young men, who accompanied him everywhere have been acknowledged by Team Aketi? How many of them, some with intimidating credentials have been given any kind of appointment not to talk of the biggest in cabinet?
“As it stands, all the files treated by State Commissioners will have to land on “Baba’s” table for onward transfer to Akeredolu ( if need be).
Petetei added that “The statutory oversight functions of Ondo State House of Assembly have also been surreptitiously annexed by Babajide’s office. In the history of Ondo State, no Governor has openly displayed this level parochialism and nepotism.
Efforts to get reaction from the DG proved abortive while no government official volunteered to react to call on the governor’s son to declare his assets.
