Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, aged 67, has passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Lagos after a prolonged health battle.
The news of his demise was confirmed to Okay.ng by a source in the governor’s cabinet, leaving the state in mourning.
Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), was serving his second term as the governor of Ondo State.
He secured re-election in October 2020 and was sworn in for a second term in office in February 2021.
However, the governor’s second term faced challenges from January 2023 when he had to be flown abroad for medical treatment.
After months overseas, the 67-year-old politician returned to Nigeria in September but stayed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for further medical attention.
As his health deteriorated, Akeredolu faced increasing pressure from opposition parties and activists to either resign or hand over power to his deputy in line with the 1999 constitution.
The governor’s loyalists in the state House of Assembly also had disagreements, with the situation prompting intervention from President Bola Tinubu.
In early December, Akeredolu’s spokesman, Richard Olatunde, had announced that the governor would embark on medical leave, marking the second such leave in 2023.
