If Ondo State is a woodland of politics, then Betty Akeredolu, the wife of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, is Queen of the jungle. According to some government contractors, she runs her husband’s workplace like a forest of unequal giants and minions.
With every expelled breath, agony surges though the hearts of many contractors in Ondo State where Rotimi Akeredolu, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, is the executive governor only on paper. You only need to flip through the catalogue of complaints by many contractors to the state government to understand that power has changed hands.
Some contractors who spoke on the condition of anonymity with The Capital claim that the powers of the governor are not in the grey-bearded lawyer’s hands but in the hands of his wife, Betty.
The Capital investigations reveal that the people of Ondo are unhappy with the several mutations of Governor Akeredolu and the grotesque manifestations of his predatory politics and governance style in the state. Hardly anyone likes his style of governance at all. His wife, Florence, is reportedly running and directing the affairs of the state while Governor simply acts out her script.
A visit to the Governor’s office last Friday revealed a lot, as most workers walked about like they were under a cloud of doom with brows furrowed in deep worry.
The very smart Ibo woman, Betty, is believed to run the state government like a fiefdom; nothing escapes her influence and domineering glare; and like a bat, she watches everything and everyone within the government and everywhere else the governor’s power and influence reach. No contract reportedly goes out without her influence or imprimatur.
At the snap of a finger, she can make or mar any contractor or favour seeker. It is common knowledge in government circles that Mummy, as she is popularly called, is the go-to person for anything, which though does not sit well with many but are left with no choice. Some even alleged they pay about 20 percent to get the
As such, everybody fawns and falls over themselves to do her bidding and earn her good graces and generousity. A native of Imo State, those who thought the trained aquaculturist, who also provides consultancy services through her Aquatek Farms Ventures, would be busy with her First Lady activities including her project, the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), are stupefied at how she has successfully usurped the functions of the Office of the Governor.
Source: thecapital
