STATE OF THE STATE
(SEPTEMBER 2025)
Civil Society
Stakeholders here present,
Gentlemen and Ladies of the Press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Ondo Redemption Front, a frontline civic organisation committed to truth and accountability, once again steps forward with this State of the State Address.
We do so with a heavy sense of responsibility, knowing that silence in the face of misgovernance is complicity.
Last month, we raised serious concerns regarding the state of healthcare, governance, infrastructure, and financial accountability in Ondo State.
Today, we stand before you with an even greater sense of alarm, because those concerns remain unanswered, unaddressed, and in some cases, worsened.
This government, under Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is increasingly proving itself to be directionless, unlistening, and lacking the capacity to govern effectively.
Also, our platform is very disturbed about the way Aiyedatiwa’s administration is strangling the local government administration in the state despite the effort of the Federal Government in ensuring that effective governance is enhanced through effective local government administration.
ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION I THE STATE
Ordinarily, we ought to have had this press conference in Akure but our deep concern to draw the attention of the Federal Government to what appears to be diversion of the Local Government funds in Ondo State has brought us here.
You will recall that the Honorable Attorney General of Federation sometimes ago approached the Supreme Court in order to give life to our Local Governments.
The reliefs sought by the Federal Government for our Local Government was granted and the Honorable Attorney General assured Nigerians and by extension Ondo State people that our local governments will have independent way of accessing their funds directly from federation account for effective local government administration.
To our dismay, it appears the judgment of the supreme court has no effect hence the reason why Ondo State Local Governments are becoming worse compared to how it used to be as the state government never allowed the local government to have access to their funds for the development of their respective local government.
We hereby call on the Federal Government and the Attorney General of the Federation to revisit the implementation of the Supreme Judgement on the Local Government autonomy.
HEALTHCARE: A SECTOR ABANDONED
The promise of “inclusive welfare” has become an empty slogan.
Our general hospitals remain in decay, poorly staffed and under-equipped.
Pregnant women still face the same old nightmares of poor maternal care, while primary health centres across the state struggle with shortages of drugs and basic supplies.
Governor Aiyedatiwa’s recent commissioning of a mental health and rehabilitation centre built by a citizen of the State was widely celebrated in the press.
Yet, for the average citizen in Okitipupa, Ikare, or Owo who cannot access basic treatment for malaria, childbirth, or road accident emergencies, such grand openings mean very little.
What our people need is not fanfare but a functioning health system that saves lives.
Sadly, that remains elusive under this government.
GOVERNANCE: A FAILURE TO LISTEN AND LEAD
True governance demands listening, planning, and acting decisively.
But under Governor Aiyedatiwa, governance has been reduced to pronouncements, ceremonies, and endless political shadowboxing.
Instead of tackling the state’s pressing challenges, the Governor has wasted time in unnecessary political feuds, from his running battles with political leaders and Stakeholders in the state to skirmishes within his own party.
This obsession with rivalry over responsibility has left roads impassable, youth unemployment deepening, and service delivery stagnant.
More disturbing are the financial scandals that refuse to go away. The ₦240 billion bond issuance and allegations of ₦12 billion monthly kickbacks remain unexplained.
The people of Ondo State deserve answers, yet what we get are dismissals, propaganda, and silence. The Ondo State House of Assembly has so far abdicated its duty, choosing to play politics instead of holding the executive accountable. Silence, in this case, is not neutrality, it is complicity.
MISSTEPS AND MISPLACED PRIORITIES
Governor Aiyedatiwa’s administration is plagued by a series of missteps that reveal its lack of vision. The much-touted infrastructure projects, like the Safari Village Bridge, have either stalled, been poorly executed, or amounted to little more than ribbon-cutting ceremonies for cameras.
These failures are not just technical, they expose the absence of planning, feasibility studies, and a serious will to deliver sustainable development.
Another glaring example is the traditional chieftaincy documentation policy, which was hurriedly rolled out earlier in the year under the guise of curbing succession disputes.
Instead of strengthening community participation and resolving long-standing conflicts through dialogue, the government rushed into bureaucratic decrees that risk aggravating tensions rather than healing them.
This is symptomatic of a government more interested in control than in real solutions.
A GOVERNMENT WITHOUT CAPACITY
Eighteen months into his stewardship, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa behaves not like a leader with a mission, but like an accidental governor still surprised by his own position.
His administration shows no urgency, no coherent plan, and no measurable progress. Governance is reduced to public relations while the people bear the burden of stagnation.
The truth is stark: this government lacks capacity.
It cannot plan, it cannot deliver, and worst of all, it does not listen. The people of Ondo State deserve better than to be spectators in a political theatre of incompetence.
By December 2025, two fiscal year (2024 and 2025 budget) would have been implemented by Governor Aiyedatiwa. With the way the Federal Government has increased allocations to the states, there are indications that about a trillion naira has been under the management of Governor Aiyedatiwa and how the funds has been utilized remains a mystery to the people of the state with the Governor not ready to explain to the people of the state how the state resources are being utilized.
OUR COUNSEL
Governor Aiyedatiwa must wake up and face the sacred trust he has been handed.
He must:
Immediate and unconditional release of Local Government funds to all the Local Government in Ondo State as released by the federal government through FAAC
Release audited accounts of all bond proceeds and state finances.
3. Reinvest in healthcare and rescue the crumbling infrastructure system.
4. End political distractions and focus on service delivery.
5. Allow the House of Assembly to exercise real oversight free from partisanship.
CONCLUSION
Leadership is not an inheritance, it is not a lottery prize. It is a sacred trust. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa must understand that the people of Ondo State gave him an overwhelming mandate in November 2024 not to preside over drift and decay, but to deliver transformation.
If he continues on this path of lethargy and mediocrity, history will not remember him as a leader but as an interlude, a man who inherited power by accident and squandered opportunity by choice.
Ondo Redemption Fronts
