Chides Ondo administration over failure to cushion subsidy removal.
During the weekend, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State chapter, stated All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial hopefuls in the state are prioritising their 2024 electoral dreams above Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s health.
The PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Kenneth Peretei, called some candidates’ prayers for the governor’s rapid recovery a sham, saying they care more about their aspirations.
Peretei told The Guardian that the governor’s absence slowed governance.
“It is known that, around October 2024, Ondo State would have a gubernatorial election,” the statement continues. Political parties and gladiators seeking Alagbaka Government House on February 24, 2025, are not waiting for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to set a timeline.
“The 2024 gubernatorial campaign has been wonderfully dressed in “per adventure” to such that degree that hypocrisy, animosity, and paralysis await Akeredolu whenever he returns. Most prayers for the governor’s rapid recovery were just 2024 choices.
“No doubt, most of them are pretenders, expecting certain godfathers to support them or riding on a non-existent power of incumbency to face the biggest opposition party, PDP. With Akeredolu’s absence-caused hostility, cleaning up the pieces would be difficult.
“The people who were abandoned throughout the supremacy war will have the last say. This squandered time would hurt the APC government.”
The opposition also criticised the Ondo State administration for failing to minimise gasoline subsidy reduction.
“In the aftermath of economic hardship created by the Bola Tinubu-led APC Federal Government, certain state governments have taken proactive steps to ease the suffering of their population,” it added. Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas lowered tuition at government-owned institutions by 50%, making basic and secondary education accessible.
“How has the Ondo State administration responded to the severe economic realities? Can government infighting justify this poor performance? Will it justify the government’s indifference to suffering?
“More than ever, parents, most of whom have abandoned their vehicles owing to rising gasoline prices, want free school shuttle buses. Because of cab costs, students walk significant distances to school. Parents and pupils cry daily under an inhumane system.
APC scorecards will matter in 2024. Taken for a ride is limited. “You may deceive some people sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,” said Jamaican artist Bob Marley. 2024 is different. It’s a fight to free people from wealth.”
