The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo state, Agboola Ajayi, has insisted that he blamed governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for allowing the court to nullify the creation of 33 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs created by former late governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
Ajayi made this known while addressing newsmen in Akure the state capital over the aftermath of the LCDAs Cancelation by the state High Court.
Recall an Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital, last Thursday nullified the newly created 33 Local Government Development Areas in the state.
In the judgment delivered by Justice A.O Adebusoye, the court described the LCDAs, which were created by the immediate former governor of the state, the late Mr Rotimi Akeredolu , as illegal and unlawful.
Reacting, the PDP candidate explained that it was an error on the part of Aiyedatiwa to have allowed such court case to go ahead considering the importance and benefits the creation of LCDAs would bring to the people of Ondo State.
Ajayi said, “I am here to address issues bordering on the creation of LCDAs and the protest that came after the creation and the court judgement delivered by the Ondo State high Court last week.
“I have read a lot of comments and received many calls especially from the northern part of the state.
“I think I must make myself clear so that the people can understand what I meant in my earlier interview.
“First, let me make it clear. I still maintain what I said by blaming Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on whatever happened on the creation of LCDAS and the aftermath.
“I said I blamed governor Aiyedatiwa for the judgement and for the aftermath of that creation of LCDAS and I will explain to you.
“Government is a serious business. Once you inherit a asset of a government, you must also inherit the liability or whatever things that come with it.
“Yes, I don’t need to hide my feelings because I was a former local government chairman, former supervising counselor of a local government, a former supervising counselor for works, agriculture and served chairman caretaker committee as well as elected chairman for three years, so if you put all these together, my experience is about eight years.
Not only that , I when I was the deputy governor, I supervised local government chairmen. So you should know that I have more experience than Aiyedatiwa in that regard.
“I also appreciate and understand what the local government administration can do for the people at the rural areas. So we must take local government administration very seriously as the closest government to the people and we must nurture it.
“If we take a look at the news and the zeal that came with that creation that time, it is not a thing we should just throw into the bin.
“We can’t have a perfect system in everything, knowing fully well that when that LCDAS were created, the governor was abroad on a medical leave. There are tendencies that one of two persons may want to take advantage of that, to favour others, those who protested have the right to do so.
“These are normal legitimate protests which every tribe must do but it is now the duty of the government to settle those grievances amicably.
“We don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. That is only the area I said No, this is wrong, the governor should have intervened, reconciled and addressed the injustice that people were raising as regards the creation of LCDAS. No doubt, LCDAS will give rapid development to the people and the grassroots. So I still blame Ondo State government for that.”
Ajayi however vowed to come up with policies and programmes aimed at developing the people of the grassroots which creation of LCDAs would be part of if elected as the governor of Ondo come November.
The Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers Independent Council had earlier described as untrue that governor Aiyedatiwa influenced the court judgement.
Reacting, the LACO-FSIC spokesman, Kayode Fasua in a statement on Monday, said the government was not behind the judgment.