The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has implored the current politicians at all level to draw lessons from Akeredolu’s untimely demise and avoid unleashing hardship, corruption, and misgovernance on citizens.
The right group in statement its national coordinator comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko expressed condolences to the people of Ondo State over the death of their former governor, Chief Rotini Akeredolu (SAN).
The group praised Akeredolu for his efforts in ensuring that Southern Nigeria produced the successor of President Buhari when Buhari planned to hand over power to the North.
‘’HURIWA said irrespective of the inexplicable bad and toxic politics orchestrated by loyalists of the late governor who frustrated the enforcement of constitutional process of transition of power to the then deputy governor, the departed governor of Ondo State will be remembered as an iconic of democracy who worked to stop the surreptitious plots by hawks working for the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over power to a northerner as against the power rotation that states that the presidency should rotate to the South. Akeredolu galvanised Southern governors to resist the attempt to push Southern Nigerians to the positions of second class citizens.
HURIWA has therefore asked the President to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Secretariat in the nation’s capital after chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, who for all times will be remembered as a hero of democracy and equity.
The Rights group further stated that the immediate political affiliates and family members of the late governor of Ondo State mismanaged the political situations prior to the physical departure of the governor by concealing his true health conditions and by fostering a situation of near breakdown of law and order in Ondo State by choreographing the failure to hand over power to the then deputy governor Mr. Goodluck Aiyedetiwa to mount the rostrum as the acting governor but it had to take the unconstitutional intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the proper process of making the then Deputy governor of Akeredolu to act as the governor whilst the late governor tackles his health challenges.’’
HURIWA demand that Nigerian politicians learn positive lessons from this event; nothing lasts forever, so they must accept responsibility and abide by laws and provisions set out in constitutions collectively or individually under any circumstances without exception.
The rights group also urged the new Ondo state Governor to commission an investigation into allegations surrounding certain individuals connected with Late Gov Akuredolus administration forging signatures withdrawing large amounts of funds from government accounts without proper accounting procedures.
HURIWA believed there is need for Nigerians everywhere to always guard against brazen violations like those witnessed recently which caused confusion almost throwing Ondo state into chaos.
‘’HURIWA recalled that late Akeredolu died on Wednesday after a prolonged illness just as he was born on July 21, 1956, Akeredolu attended Aquinas College Akure and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.
He was Attorney General of Ondo State from 1997-1999.
He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1998. Akeredolu was president of Nigeria Bar Association from 2008 to 2010.
He was elected Governor of Ondo State on the Platform of the All Progressives Congress in November 2016 and reelected in 2020.’’ The Statement Reads
