Rita Enemuru, Reporting
SUPPORTERS of Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, have dismissed a recent campaign of calumny against his administration as a “political miscalculation” that will ultimately backfire on its sponsors.
In a strongly worded rejoinder made available to our reporter on Wednesday, a group loyal to Aiyedatiwa has described the allegations against Princess Abike-Bayo Ilawole, the permanent secretary of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), as a calculated attack on the Governor himself.
The statement, signed by Prince Alex Ikuesan (Chairman) and Comrade Ajumuda Pius (Secretary), comes in response to a publication credited to one Comrade Segun Iseyemi.
The group labelled the accusations as baseless and part of a sponsored propaganda campaign by “power mongers” desperate to destabilise the Aiyedatiwa-led administration.
‘Esau’s Hands and Jacob’s Voice’
The group suggested that the current political drama bears the hallmark of “Esau’s hands and Jacob’s voice,” implying that the smear campaign appears to have been orchestrated by individuals with ulterior motives.
They specifically pointed fingers at individuals “drunk with officialdom” at the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) and their cohorts.
“These hired voices are driven by a hunger for control, not by any genuine concern for governance whatsoever,” the statement read, as reported by local observers.
“A stricter scrutiny of this smear campaign bears the hallmark of Esau’s hands and Jacob’s voice. It is obvious to discerning minds in Ondo State that the current political drama is fuelled and sponsored by individuals who are drunk with officialdom at OSOPADEC.”
SUBEB Tenure and Protocol
In clarifying the administrative procedures, the group noted that there was no protocol linking Princess Ilawole with the former SUBEB chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan, regarding directives to retired public servants.
“For the avoidance of doubts, be it known that the SUBEB Board led by RT. Honorable Victor Olabimtan had over stayed its tenure for months, enjoying benefits and privileges he was no longer entitled to by law before he left the office in the month of May, 2026,” the statement explained.
The group added: “His four year tenure started with his inauguration on the 20th of January 2022, which lawfully ended on the 20th of January 2026, whereas he enjoyed undue benefits till May 2026.”
A Warning to Detractors
The group insisted that neither the Governor nor Princess Ilawole would be distracted from performing their duties. They warned those complicit in the “charade” to expect karmic consequences.
“Be it known to the detractors that neither the Governor, His Excellency, Dr Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, nor the permanent secretary of SUBEB, Princess Abike-Bayo Ilawole, will be distracted from performing their constitutional and lawful duties,” the statement declared.
“The Governor remains focused on prudent leadership, undeterred by the tantrums of political jobbers and their paid mercenaries.”
Prince Alex Ikuesan, Chairman of the group, concluded by enjoining the peace-loving people of Ondo State to continue their support for the Aiyedatiwa-led administration and to discountenance “unfounded reports from individuals with questionable characters” .
