Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu CON SAN ( July 21, 1956 – December 27, 2023) was a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He was the Governor of Ondo State from February 24, 2017 until his death on December 27, 2023 died after a prolonged battle With Leukaemia.
His adopted prefix was “Arakunrin”, while his nickname was “Aketi”. He was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who became president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2008. Akeredolu was also a Managing Partner at the law firm of Olujinmi & Akeredolu, which he co-founded with Chief Akin Olujinmi, a former Attorney General and Minister for Justice of Nigeria. On 21 July 2020, he was declared as the Ondo governorship candidate after the primary elections under the platform of the APC.
Birth and Education
Akeredolu was born on July 21, 1956 in Owo to Reverend J. Ola Akeredolu of the Akeredolu family and Lady Evangelist Grace B. Akeredolu of Aderoyiju family of Igbotu, Ese Odo, in Ondo State. Akeredolu started his primary education at government school in Owo. He proceeded to Aquinas College, Akure, Loyola College, Ibadan and a comprehensive high school, Ayetoro, for his secondary school education and Higher School Certificate, respectively.
His middle name Odunayo means “Year of happiness” in Yoruba He went on to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) to study law and he graduated in 1977. He was referred to as the Nigerian Bar 1978.
Career
Akeredolu was appointed Attorney General of Ondo State from 1997 to 1999. In 1998, he became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He was Chairman of the Legal Aid Council (2005–2006). In November 2009, he faced allegations of corruption when the Bar Association’s third Vice-President, Welfare Secretary and Assistant Financial Secretary circulated a petition entitled “Complaints against your fraudulent manifestations, violation of the NBA”. Subsequently, the allegations against him were reviewed and dropped by the National Executive council of the Nigerian Bar Association.
In a lecture in December 2009, Akeredolu said no amount of electoral reform or judicial system could give Nigeria free and fair elections if Nigerians themselves refused to take practical steps to ensure that their votes count Later that month he stated that Umaru Yar’Adua, the President of Nigeria should have handed over to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during his illness, a statement that was backed up by the Nigerian Bar Association who said he was authorised to speak on their behalf.
In 2012, the Nigerian Bar Association named its new secretariat in Abuja after him, with its president citing the reason being the need for “generational identification and recognition of those who had contributed immensely to the development of the association. The sheer courage for him (Akeredolu) to go through the rigour is a testimony to his selfless service.”
On February 4,2022, he was awarded as the Grand Patron of the NDLEA by the Chairman of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd).
Governor of Ondo State
On Sunday, November 27, 2016, Akeredolu was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the winner of the Ondo State governorship election. He amassed 244,842 votes in the election to defeat Eyitayo Jegede with 150,380 votes and Olusola Oke with 126,889 votes.
According to Professor Ganiyu Ambali, INEC Returning Officer, Akeredolu defeated two major opponents, Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), to clinch victory. He was sworn in as the governor of Ondo State on February 24, 2017 in Akure, the Ondo State Capital.
He won the battle to re-contest for the 2020 Ondo State governorship election after beating Olusola Oke, D.I. Kekemeke, Jimi Odimayo, Segun Abraham and others in the APC primary election.
On Saturday, October 10, 2020, Akeredolu was re-elected governor of Ondo State and announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission on October 11, 2020. He won with a total number of 292,830 valid votes against his major opponents from the Peoples Democratic Party and the Zenith Labour Party, Eyitayo Jegede and Agboola Ajayi respectively.
He was sworn in for a second term in office on February 24, 2021.He and his new deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, assumed office on the same date and he is the incumbent deputy governor of Ondo State.
He has advocated for the payment of taxes in the state to help boost the economy of the state and fulfilments of obligations.
Following the June 2022 Owo church attack against Catholics in Ondo, Akeredolu condemned the attack as “satanic.”
He is currently[when?] starting up a sea port project in Ondo state and he has stated that his administration was committed to the completion of the project, which was initiated in his first term, saying the port would not only serve Nigeria but also the whole of West Africa once built.
Akeredolu has been undergoing treatment for leukaemia since January 2023, and has had a long period of medical absence. On December 12, 2023, in advance of another period of medical leave, Akeredolu signed the notice appointing deputy governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as acting governor of the state.
