Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has told the All Progressives Congress screening committee for the upcoming governorship election in the state that his credentials are not fake as being insinuated in some quarters.
He made this known on Friday after becoming the first aspirant to be cleared by the APC screening committee ahead of the party’s governorship primary slated for April 20.
The governor, who purchased the party’s ₦50 million governorship nomination forms, has recently engaged in conflicts with several other aspirants within the party in the state. These include Mr. Wale Akinterinwa, Mr. Mayowa Akinfolarin, Prof. Francis Faduyile, Mr. Isaacs Kekemeke, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), Mr. Gbenga Edema, and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
The conflict has revolved around the governor’s credentials, sparked by a petition from legal practitioner Oladotun Hassan to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Commission. The petition alleges that a high-ranking officer intends to interfere with the ongoing investigation into the governor’s academic certificates.
Clearing the air on Friday, Aiyedatiwa said, “Screening is one of the processes aspirants have to go through. Mine has just been done this morning and all documents that were submitted have to be verified and questions asked where some are not too clear to the screening committee. Questions were asked and answered.
“At the end of the day, I have been cleared, especially on the issue that has to do with my certificate that a petition was written. Today, that has been put to rest. My certificates are genuine and authentic.
“I think it is a kind of mischief by some aspirants who see me as the man to beat and had to look for a way to discredit my person. Today, it has been verified and put to rest.”
He also took newsmen and audiences back in time to when a former governor governor of Lagos, Lateef Jakande, was forced to merge some schools, particularly those affected by flood, with the Ikosi High School that he attended.
“As a student of history, you will recall that in 1989 when Lateef Jakande became governor of Lagos State private schools were taken over. Schools were built for the communities. And Ikosi High School that I attended is one of those schools built by the government of Lateef Jakande.
“So, it is on record that the school was established in 1980 and at that time, I was already in Form three in a private school, New Nation, in Ikosi while Royal Comprehensive High School is in Ajegunle Ikorodu, very close to Ketu,” he added.
However, one of his rivals, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, had other ideas. He discredited the Governor’s certificates and credentials and claim he is an unknown who only wants to rule Ondo by virtue of being a Deputy to the late Rotimi Akeredolu.
He said, “As you can see, all my credentials and certificates are complete. What has Aiyedatiwa achieved? He was just a pair to Aketi. We didn’t vote for him. It was Aketi we voted for. But I can assure you, the governor is a huge joker. He can’t continue in government with his P8 and P7 (alleged grades). The governor will be out of that place by the time we finish the APC primary next week. He is gone and there is nothing he can do about it.
“I don’t normally go against people. Left alone to me, clear everybody and let them go for primary. Let the electorate decide. I have won the election as senator. I won in six of the six local governments, 65 of the 66 wards, and bagged 111,677 votes as against Agboola Ajayi’s 60,000 votes.
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