Late Akeredolu’s Family Fight Dirty Over Aiyedatwa’s 2024 Aspiration

What started as a cold war has blown into the open between the niece of late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and his wife Funke Akeredolu Aruna and Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu as it relates to the governorship aspiration of incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State.

Wife of late Governor Akeredolu pointedly lashed out at Funke Akeredolu Aruna, who is a niece to her late husband, describing her as ‘shameless’ for drumming support for the governorship aspiration of Governor Aiyedatiwa.

Betty, the widow of late Governor Akeredolu also accused Funke, who was former Deputy Chief Protocol Officer to her late uncle, Akeredolu, of identifying with Aiyedatiwa who is seen as an opposition to her late husband.

However, Funke said she does not see the reason why she should blindly join Betty and her group in mounting an unnecessary opposition against Governor Aiyedatiwati, who she insisted did no wrong whatsoever.

She therefore declared that she cannot see where there is light and follow darkness, saying that all the things flying around against incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa were pure tissues of lies.

In the words of Funke Akeredolu; “I am a Christian, I cannot pitch my tent with lies. I have my integrity and I hold it in high spirits.

“I have refused to join the emergency political opponents and so called enemies in chastising the incumbent governor over his political aspirations.

“Mummy (Betty Akeredolu) is fighting and attacking me now because she has her reason and she is not supporting the incumbent governor.

“I am just a victim of circumstances with whatever that is happening. I was the Deputy Chief of Protocol in the last administration to my uncle (Akeredolu) and this present governor was like a family too to the Akeredolu family. So, where is this opposition coming from?”

Funke also said that her late uncle and the present Governor Aiyedatiwa were very close before he died. Late Governor Akeredolu took the incumbent governor like a brother who could be trusted.

She also said; “So, I also called this present governor an uncle because of that when the initial issue started, I meant when Lucky was the deputy governor, I didn’t support the cabal. It got to a time, they started saying I was dating him (Aiyedatiwa).

“When I heard that I was dating him I was surprised. You know that type of white lies that you believed that is not possible and because of what was going on, I didn’t believe all that was being said about him.

“Now that he (Aiyedatiwa) is now the present governor, I happened to be one of the assistant convener of Orimisan Lucky Women in the state, a support group for his re-election bid and this particular group has large number in the state because we are all over the 18 LGAs.

“So, we had a programme yesterday to chart a way forward and it was during this programme that they took my picture.

It is just politics and I want to believe that it is the opposition that took that picture and started sending it around with blackmail.

“I think that’s where the late governor’s wife now got the picture and you know she was disappointed that I’m not in their camp and everybody knows I’m in Governor Aiyedatiwa’s camp.

“I have always been there when the whole shenanigans started especially when the politics was hot in the state.

 It is not new to the family members that I’m for Lucky Aiyedatiwa. I won’t back out from Lucky’s camp,” Funke stressed.