On Wednesday, December 27, Chief Judge Justice Olusegun Odusola swore in Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the new governor of Ondo State.
This came after the early hours of Wednesday morning when his predecessor, Rotimi Akeredulu, passed away.
On December 13, 2023, Akeredolu transmitted power to him when he left on a second medical trip abroad in 2023, leaving him interim governor of the Sunshine State until his swearing-in as Aiyedatiwa at the Cocoa Conference Hall in the governor’s office in Akure.
At 5:18 p.m., the newly elected governor took the oath of office and vowed to always prioritize the interests of the state over his own.
In addition, Aiyedatiwa promised to act in the best interests of the Ondo people and to base his actions as president on the Nigerian constitution.
Below are 13 things to know about the new governor:
The new governor was born on 12 January 1965 at Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
He hails from Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
He is a Nigerian businessman and politician.
Aiyedatiwa was a former commissioner of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
He obtained a Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in Economics and Government in 1986 from Lagos State College of Education (now Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education), Ijanikin, Lagos.
He later attended the University of Ibadan for an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration in 2001.
Lucky obtained Post Graduate Certification in Chief Executive Education (CEP) in Business Management in 2009 and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, in 2013.
He joined active politics in 2011 as a card-carrying member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later merged with other political parties and became the All Progressive Congress (APC).
From 2018 to 2019, Aiyedatiwa served as the federal commissioner who represented Ondo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2018 to 2019.
He contested for the federal House of Representatives for Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency in the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly General Election.
He was deputy governor of Ondo State from 2021 to 2023 under Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
He also acted as governor from June to September 2023 and earlier in December when Akeredolu was on medical leave.
He was subsequently sworn in as Ondo State Governor on December 27, 2023, following the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
