On Monday, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa was inaugurated as the Governor of Ondo State, kicking off his first full four-year term.
The new Governor was the Deputy to the departed Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who passed on in December 2023. Shortly after his principal’s passage, Aiyedatiwa took over as the Acting Governor as stipulated by the Constitution.
His swearing-in ceremony took place at the Ondo State Sports Complex in Akure, the state capital, two months after he won the governorship election under the banner of the All Progressives Congress.
He took his oath of office just after his running mate Olayide Adelami took his own around 12:59 pm.
The governor thereafter rode in an open van around the complex, waving to cheers from supporters.
His inauguration completes the succession process in the Sunshine State, with Aiyedatiwa expected to head the next administration which will lead the state in the next four years.
To arrive here, Aiyedatiwa had to overcome a stiff competition from another former deputy governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, who contested against him on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Aiyedatiwa’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure, was extended when he was declared winner of the November 16, 2024 governorship election by the Returning Officer, Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State.
The APC candidate polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival Ajayi, who scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than Aiyedatiwa.
The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.
Aiyedatiwa assumed power on December 27th, 2023 after Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s death.
Akeredolu died after a lengthy battle with illness and had before his demise transmitted power to Aiyedatiwa.
He, thereafter, won the APC’s ticket for the 2024 governorship election in Ondo, pitting him against 17 other candidates including Ajayi who was also a former deputy to Akeredolu during his first term in office.
The immediate family members of the governor and his deputy were at the swearing-in ceremony.
Present at the ceremony include the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ekiti state governor Biodun Oyebanji, former governors of Osun state, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Olusegun Osoba, and Dr Olusegun Mimiko, former governor of Ondo state, and the Minister of Youth Development, Hon Ayodele Olawande.
Others present include present and past members of the national assembly, the state party chairman, Engineer Ade Adetimehin and former members of the state executive council.
According to details on the state government website, Aiyedatiwa was born on January 12, 1965, in Obe-Nla, an oil-producing community in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. Aiyedatiwa’s education began at Saint Peter’s Primary School in Obe-Nla, and he completed his secondary education at Ikosi High School, Ketu, Lagos, in 1982.
He holds a Nigeria Certificate in Education in Economics and Government from Lagos State College of Education (now Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education), obtained in 1986.
Furthering his education, he earned an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Ibadan in 2001, a Postgraduate Certificate in Chief Executive Education from Lagos Business School in 2009, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool in 2013.
Before entering politics, Aiyedatiwa had a diverse career spanning education, pharmaceuticals, finance, and general merchandise. In 1996, he founded the Blue Wall Group of Companies, which had interests in trading, foreign exchange, and travel logistics.
His political career began in 2011 with the Action Congress of Nigeria, which later merged into the APC. He served as a Federal Commissioner representing Ondo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission from 2018 to 2019.
In 2020, he was elected as Deputy Governor alongside Governor Akeredolu and assumed office as governor following Akeredolu’s passing.
Meanwhile, Akeredolu died on December 27, 2023, at the age of 67, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer. His death led to Aiyedatiwa’s succession as governor.
