‘I Gave My Deputy N13m Monthly…And Made Him Comfortable, Yet He Betrayed Me’ – Gov Akeredolu

Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has described the Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, as an ingrate .

Akeredolu, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the governorship election holding on October 10, said despite the fact that he made his deputy very comfortable he betrayed him.

The governor, who said this on a programme aired by the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation in Akure stated that he made Ajayi, who is the governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, the highest paid deputy governor in the country but he was not satisfied.

The governor, however, said he was ready to forgive all his detractors, saying as a Christian, he would not begrudge anyone.

But he did not mention any name.

The governor and his deputy were elected on the platform of the APC but their relationship broke down and Ajayi defected to the Peoples Democratic Party where he contested the primary election of the opposition party and lost. He dumped the PDP for the ZLP and became their flag bearrer for the poll.

The deputy governor had at many fora accused the governor of highhandedness and running the stage like a family business.

He said he was relegated and was not given any functions but endured until he left the party.

However, Akeredolu said, “Agboola (Ajayi) does not want to wait for his time. I made him comfortable; I asked him to represent me at so many places, but some people warned me against that but I said they should leave him alone.

“No deputy governor has collected what he was collecting in the history of the state. I gave him N13m monthly; his predecessors did not collect as much as that. No deputy governor collects as much as that in Nigeria. I gave him enough room to operate, yet he betrayed me.”

Akeredolu expressed optimism about his chances in the October 10 governorship election, saying he has done well and was confident of winning despite the tough challenges from the opposition parties.

He said, “We have been doing our best for this state; all the abandoned projects of the past administration have been completed.

“We have rehabilitated and constructed over 700 primary schools in this state; we have improved our education system. We have received a loan to complete the abandoned Owena water project and we will do it. We are also working on five dams; there are so many things in our plans to do for the state.”