Akeredolu’s ex-aide faults Aiyedatiwa over Ondo Deep Sea Port remarks

A former chief press secretary to the late Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has criticised Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa over comments he made regarding the Port Declaration for the proposed Ondo Deep Sea Port.

In a statement on Sunday, the former aide, Richard Olatunde, accused the governor of misrepresenting the efforts made by the late governor in securing the declaration for the project.

Olatunde said Aiyedatiwa’s remarks during a media chat suggested that the Port Declaration obtained by the Akeredolu administration was faulty, a claim he described as misleading and unfair to the late governor’s legacy.

According to him, Akeredolu laid the foundation for the actualisation of the deep sea port project through extensive planning, including the engagement of consultants who conducted feasibility studies and prepared the Outline Business Case.

He explained that the report was submitted to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission for certification before being forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Transportation, which eventually led to the issuance of the Port Declaration in May 2023.

Olatunde said the approval followed a memo presented by the then Minister of Transportation, Muazu Jaji Sambo, with support from the former Minister of State for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye.

“The issue described as a ‘faulty’ Port Declaration was merely a clerical error involving the insertion of a company’s name in the document and did not invalidate the licence secured for the project,” he said.

Olatunde urged the people of Ondo State to seek accurate information about the project and the late governor’s contributions, insisting that attempts to diminish Akeredolu’s legacy would be resisted.