Things to know about new Ondo Governor, Aiyedatiwa

Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa was sworn in as the new Governor of Ondo State on Wednesday, December 27 by Chief Justice Olusegun Odusola.

This came after his predecessor, Rotimi Akeredolu, died in the early hours of Wednesday.

Prior to his Aiyedatiwa’s inauguration in the Cocoa Conference Hall in the governor’s office in Akure, he served as acting governor of the Sunshine State after Akeredolu transferred power to him on December 13, 2023, as he proceeded on his second medical trip overseas in 2023.

The new governor who took his oath of office at 5:18 pm promised to always put the state’s interests above his interests.

Aiyedatiwa also pledged that his actions in office would be guided by the provisions of the Nigerian constitution and promised to work in the best interest of the people of Ondo.

Below are 13 things to know about the new governor:

1. The new governor was born on 12 January 1965 at Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
2. He hails from Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
3. He is a Nigerian businessman and politician.
4. Aiyedatiwa was a former commissioner of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
5. He obtained a Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in Economics and Government in 1986 from Lagos State College of Education (now Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education), Ijanikin, Lagos.
6. He later attended the University of Ibadan for an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration in 2001.
7. Lucky obtained Post Graduate Certification in Chief Executive Education (CEP) in Business Management in 2009 and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, in 2013.
8. He joined active politics in 2011 as a card-carrying member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later merged with other political parties and became the All Progressive Congress (APC).
9. From 2018 to 2019, Aiyedatiwa served as the federal commissioner who represented Ondo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2018 to 2019.
10. He contested for the federal House of Representatives for Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency in the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly General Election.
11. He was deputy governor of Ondo State from 2021 to 2023 under Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
12. He also acted as governor from June to September 2023 and earlier in December when Akeredolu was on medical leave.
13. He was subsequently sworn in as Ondo State Governor on December 27, 2023, following the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.