Impeachment: Lawyer faults allegations against Ondo Deputy Governor

A human rights lawyer, Allen Sowore, has faulted the 14-count allegation brought against the embattled Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, by the state House of Assembly.

Sowore, who described the allegations as vague, expressed concern about the development, stressing that the allegations were cooked up to nail Aiyedatiwa.

The state House of Assembly had accused the embattled deputy governor of gross misconduct and financial recklessness, among others.

Sowore, in a statement issued at the weekend and made available to The Guardian, argued that the allegations were merely a smokescreen intended to divert the attention of the people and citizens from raising questions over the whereabouts of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

Sowore further expressed disappointment that the initial allegation involving spending N300 million on armoured vehicles, which was previously levelled against Aiyedatiwa, was conspicuously absent from the charge sheet.

According to the lawyer, the omission raised doubts about the credibility of the allegations against the embattled deputy governor.

Regarding the first allegation, which claimed that Aiyedatiwa granted an interview against the governor, Sowore said:”Apart from the fact that Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of expression, where exactly did the deputy governor make unfair comments about the governor’s health? The governor has sacked all the deputy governor’s media aides for the same offence, yet there is no evidence.

“The action of Mr. Governor in this regard is, in effect, an attack on press freedom. The media handlers of Mr. Governor have not disclosed any information about the governor’s health status or whereabouts to avoid misinformation.”

On the allegation that the deputy governor collected money to travel without actually travelling, Sowore said the drafters of the allegations reduced the office of the deputy governor to an errand civil servant.

He said: “There is a template for the arrangements of travel for the governor or his deputy. The governor or his deputy do not handle or see the money meant for their journeys.
“Those who handle the money are civil servants called protocol officers. They are the ones who make or write the proposals using the existing template.
“For Mr. Governor, it is about N6 million a day if he travels outside the state. The money is meant for the convoy – fueling of vehicles, feeding, medication, accommodation and the general welfare of the security agents, drivers, medical personnel and the members of the press crew attached to the office of the governor or his deputy, as the case may be. Where such trips are cancelled, it behooves the protocol officers to return the money to the vault.”

On the allegation of financial malfeasance against Aiyedatiwa, Sowore said: “There is a maintenance officer, normally a certified engineer, who is completely in charge of the management and maintenance of vehicles.

“The purchase of any item in the state must pass through the Project Implementation and Monitoring Unit, which is manned by the governor’s son, Babajide Akeredolu. If Babajide approved N5.4 million for the purchase of batteries and tyres for the vehicles in the deputy governor’s convoy, all the blame goes to him because he is the gatekeeper and he is to ensure that no item is purchased above the market value.”

On the allegations of bribery and mismanagement in the local councils, Sowore noted: “These are nebulous, vague and undefined allegations; N500 million for the administration of the local governments.

“We have the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, which is directly in charge of the administration of the 18 local government areas in the state. What about the chairmen who are directly responsible for their respective LGAs? Who initiated the proposal? Which account was it taken from? Who approved it?

“Bribery allegations must be supported by concrete evidence, including information on the source, recipient and circumstances surrounding the alleged bribe. Was the bribe paid directly into the personal account of the deputy governor? Which of the kings made the payment?”