Declare Your Assets Now, PDP Tells Akeredolu’s Son

Fidelis David in Akure

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has asked Babajide Akeredolu ,the son of the state governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to declare his assets having being appointed by his father as a cabinet member in the state.

This is coming two weeks after Akeredolu sworn in his son as the Director General of Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit ( PPIMU), an appointment which generated divergent reactions in the state.
The party made the call in a statement titled, ‘Akeredolu’s Misrule In Ondo State (9): Puts Son On Collision Course With The Law,’ and signed by its spokesperson, Kennedy Ikantu Peretei.

It reads: “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 must declare all the houses and petrol stations he bought with the N430 million collected from the Ondo State treasury without lifting a finger.

“He is under the law, expected to declare the source of his billions syphoned from Ondo State. 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 forfieted to the Federal Government.
“It 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.

“If he fails to include his prime properties, he ought to know the Implications. This is where greed has led father, wife and son.”The party 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.

“The footage of the event captured Akeredolu trying to amend the buttons of the dress of his son, while the mother, Mrs Betty Akeredolu watched father and son with admiration.

“Criticisms trailed the nomination and appointment of Babajide by his father as DG PPIMU in service of the state. Apart from some almajiri political appointees of the governor, nobody in his right sense applauded the appointm

“In 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,” the party said.

PDP quoted the governor to have 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?”.

PDP explained that 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.
“What the governor said during the swearing-in was more stomach aching. ” The PPMIU was established to recalibrate the administration’s development agenda, and assist in ensuring value for all resources deployed by the government,” the party added.

It noted that Babajide’s agency will design and implement project management, monitoring and evaluation platform for the Governor’s office to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the execution of the Ondo 8-point agenda.

“This administration has been engaging members of the young generation on whose shoulders the future of this great country rests. We will continue to engage worthy youths, regardless of degree of affinity or otherwise. Only the fit and proper will join us”.

“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). 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”