Wife of Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Betty, has slammed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over the allegation that her husband is funding her senatorial aspiration in her Imo home state with Ondo State’s money.
A statement on Sunday by the Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media & Archives (Office of the First Lady), Debo Akinbami, said the allegation was false.
According to the statement, titled “Re: Akeredolu sponsors wife for Senate in Imo State – PDP suffering from acute dementia,”: “The attention of the office of Ondo State Governor’s wife, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has been drawn to the balderdash spewed and spread by the demented spokesperson for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, in a veiled but vain attempt at disparaging the person and political pursuit of Mrs Akeredolu.
“The scrap, inchoate and incoherent as it reads, and typical of the attention-seeking drowner by the noun Peretei, should have ordinarily been thrown to the bin that it qualifies for, but this refutation serves to lay the facts bare to the esteemed people of Ondo State, and in so doing, help unsuspecting public from falling for the opposition’s blatant lies.
“Being part of the specious allegations conjured by the People’s Democratic Party through its sickly publicity secretary, it is alleged that the Free School Shuttle buses procured by the administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko were sighted in Owerri, a subtle but silly euphemism for supposing that the buses are being used in Owerri to expedite the political ambition of Mrs Akeredolu, who is from Imo State. Whereas, matter-of-factly, not a single one of the contentious shuttle buses is in any part of Owerri.
“For the records, however, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu facilitated the construction of a 10.5km road project for her immediate constituency at the cost of N1.6bn, as against the barefaced falsity of the pathological liars to the extent that the road is being constructed at the cost of 16bn. Meanwhile, the road project in question is being sponsored by NDDC, of which Imo is a stout part. It is not the first of time she would assist her constituents, particularly in private capacity and she will continue to do so without apologies to pretenders who expect her to hate her people the way they hate theirs.
“While we sympathise with the opposition who is already used to idlers as First Ladies and so finding the clout of the incumbent to contend with, it must be stressed that Mrs Akeredolu who is contesting to represent the Owerri Zone at the national assembly is an accomplished professional who having reached the peak of her career at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, retired and since been contributing to helping and healing humanity in various ways, hence she has the requisite contents, contacts and wherewithal to win election and do well as a Senator.
“It is not only deceitful and hypocritical for the downing opposition to have given the false impression that the First Lady is relying on the Ondo State exchequer to fund political ambition, it also shows the extent of certain desperate sadists to stain the immaculate standing of Mrs Akeredolu.
“However, since the ostentatious characters who inhabit the People’s Democratic Party impliedly loath their own places of birth and would irresponsibly watch it slide into comatose without help, we can only wish them ill luck in their doomed sojourn to unjustly misportray a bona fide Mrs Akeredolu.”
Earlier in the day, the PDP had in a statement by Peretei, and titled “Akeredolu’s Misrule In Ondo State (16): Sponsors Wife For Senate In Imo State,” said: “Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, wife of Ondo State Governor ranks amongst wives in the corridor of power who know exactly what to do with the enormous influence and lush funds available to their husbands.
“Addressing wives of military officers, Mrs Maryam Babangida, wife of former Nigerian Head of State who arrogated to himself title of “President”, told the women that, they were one rank higher than their husbands, even though they were civilians. She said if their husbands were Colonels, *they were* Brigadiers-General.
“The glitz and glamour Maryam brought to bear on her pet project, Better Life For Rural Women, cannot be forgotten in a hurry. She was reported to have influenced the capital of Delta State to be located in Asaba (her birthplace) which is at the Anambra fringe of the State. She proved over and over again that, she was the woman behind the throne.
“Mrs Akeredolu has also demonstrated that, she is one rank ahead of her husband. As a matter of fact, she does not mince words by saying she is three years older than her husband, who is the Governor of Ondo State.
“Last week, Betty Akeredolu officially joined the Senatorial race for Imo East under the All Progressives Congress (APC). In her address to journalists in Owerri, Mrs Akeredolu said “I am vying for the Senate of Imo East to change the narrative about Owerri Zone. Yes, l am married to the Governor of Ondo State but that shouldn’t deprive me of the right to seek to represent Imo East, which is my maiden Senatorial District. I am proud to come from Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State. Our biggest challenges are roads and hospitals but l am happy that l have been able to attract a 10.5km of roads to Emeabiam at the cost of N16bn. I am grateful to the NDDC… l know my going to Senate will attract huge development for the people of Imo State”.
“Few questions immediately come to mind. Was Betty trying to brag about her status of being a Governor’s wife or trying to reconnect with her roots as being part of the Emeabiam community? Has she ever been involved in development activities or politics of Imo State before her husband became Governor? How many of such NDDC Projects has she influenced to Ondo State?
“In 2012, when Rotimi Akeredolu first contested Governorship elections in Ondo State, his biggest challenge was that, he never registered as a voter in the State. It took some re-engineering from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to relocate himself and the wife, from where they registered in Oyo State, to Owo Local Government, where they now vote. If Betty is to contest elections in Imo State, this ritual has to be repeated if not perfected already.
“Betty’s Senatorial aspiration has been clinically conceptualised immediately after Akeredolu was sworn in as Governor. The first sign was that, some of the Free School Shuttle buses bought by the Dr. Olusegun Mimiko government for easy movement of school children were sighted in Owerri. Of the over 95 buses, not more than 20 are parked at the premises of the Ministry of Works at various levels of decay. The Ondo State government has not told the people the whereabouts of the remaining buses. If the government says it has no money to run the buses, one will expect to see the buses on ground. The missing buses may have been used to oil the “back to my roots” project.
“On Friday, 29th December, 2017, the Ondo State Government literally shut down and moved to Emeabiam in honour of Mrs Betty for the title Ada Emeabiam ll. The Governor himself led the delegation. Then, on 14th August, 2021, all the monarchs in Owerri Federal Constituency, covering about 150 autonomous communities conferred on Mrs Akeredolu the title “Ada Owere” meaning the first daughter of Owerri. Betty is the first recipient of this title.
“Again, on Sunday, 26th December, 2021, the same woman was honoured with the title Nwanyiwuihe (woman is valued) by the Ihiagwa Town Management Committee during the 2021 Ihiagwa Clan Day celebration in Owerri West Local Government.
“There is none of these ceremonies that did not cost Ondo State Tax Payers huge resources that could be channeled to the welfare of the people. If you have received any such traditional title in Nigeria before, you will appreciate what is at stake here. Political appointees and traditional rulers all struggle to be seen during these ceremonies, taking selfies and smiling reminiscent of what legendary Afro beat King Fela referred to as suffering and smiling.
“Mrs Betty Akeredolu is desirous of joining the league of wives of former governors in the Nigerian Senate. The first was Senator Zainab Kure, wife of former Governor of Niger State, Engr. Abdulkadir Kure. Zainab was elected to represent Niger South Senatorial District in 2007 at the end of her husband’s second term as Governor. The other person is Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of APC leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a two term Governor of Lagos State. Senator Remi was elected to represent Lagos Central Senatorial District in 2011. She was re-elected in 2015 and 2019.
“While l wish Ada Owere the very best of luck in the 2023 Senatorial election, she must remember that, those former governors wives who contested Senatorial elections did so, where their husbands reigned as governors. Akeredolu will be unable to do anything in the Imo contest apart from squandering our lean resources to service some politicians in Imo State who will never tell Ada Owere the truth. There are speculations that Betty was encouraged to contest by *Ebere* Obiano who intends to contest Senatorial elections in Anambra State.”
