LAGOS – Dr Kayode Ajulo (SAN) Ondo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, has faulted claims by veteran columnist, Mr Festus Adedayo against Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The attorney general was reacting to Adedayo’s opinion article, titled:” Aiyedatiwa’s Years of the Locusts”.
Recalls that the columnist in his write up, described the Ondo state governor as a vulture with talons soaked in blood and greed,’ and as one who fabricates a ‘third-term ambition’ likened to Sani Abacha .
In a statement in Lagos on Monday, the attorney general expressed shock at such description of the governor, describing it as intellectual tetrorism and cyber bullying.
Ajulo stated that he had previously been constrained by the dignity and impartiality required of his position not to engage in public banter or respond to partisan commentary.
However, he lamented that what he read from Adedayo, whom he described as a writer for whom he reserved “tremendous respect”-was not journalism as he knows it but rather, a deliberate cocktail of malicious lies” that carries “precarious liabilities.”
Ajulo declared that the piece had crossed into territory that could no longer be ignored.
“When a decorated and senior writer descends into calling a democratically elected leader names and peddles the outrageous falsehood of ‘retarded and arrested development’, despite the governor’s verifiable, monumental achievements, then the line has been crossed from opinion to actionable libel per se.
“This should not be dignified with silence by every man of conscience,” Ajulo protested.
He cited infrastructural achievements by the Aiyedayiwa administration, which Adedayo failed to acknowledge, to include “over 190 kilometres of quality roads commissioned and advanced across the three senatorial districts in the first year of the elected mandate.
“Key projects include the six kilometer Aiyegunle–Iwaro Oka Road (long abandoned by previous administrations), which the Olubaka of Oka, Oba Yusuf Adebori Adeleye, publicly praised as one feat ‘previous administrations failed to accomplish’, and that Aiyedatiwa has written his name in the hearts of our people’.”
Ajulo also named several other road projects accomplished by the Aiyedatiwa administration to include, 5.5 km Igoba Township Road, Alagbaka Extension, Gbangbalogun–Odole–Odiolowo, Lao–Oke Padre–Odopetu, Ecobank–Oke Arata, Ajegunle, Oja Oshodi, SK Bright Street, Ayeloro Street, and Owo clusters (Falodun, Kajola, Iselu–Isuada spanning 3.5 km).
He added that in the health sector, there are 112 primary healthcare centres renovated or newly constructed across all 18 local government areas of the state that are now operational.
“Besides, we have the massive expansion of the Orange Health Insurance Scheme; commissioning of the 100,000-litre solar-powered Omi Irorun O’Datiwa Water Project at FUTA Teaching Hospital serving over 6,000 residents; recent commissioning of new centres in Adegbola (Akure) and Surulere (Ondo).
He said in the education sector, the 280 classrooms were either constructed or renovated, plus perimeter fencing of numerous schools, and that over 2000 teachers were employed by the Aiyedatiwa administration.
The attorney general further lauded the governor’s deft move at securing revalidation of the Ondo Deep Sea Port licence, and for making the state partner with investors to cite refinery and petrochemical projects in Ondo state.
On the tragic APC ward congress violence in Idanre community, Ajulo reiterated; that Aiyedatiwa immediately and publicly condemned it in the strongest terms.
“The governor distanced his administration completely, directed security agencies to investigate and prosecute all perpetrators without fear or favour, noting that 13 suspects had been arrested.
“Governor Aiyedatiwa has cooperated fully with the federal authorities, including having a meeting with Mr. President and various stakeholders, an act of transparent accountability, not orchestration.”
He said the governor is not on the ballot and could not have taken undue interest in a ward or local council party congress.
According to him, Aiyedatiwa’s political antecedent glows, as all activities leading to his overwhelming victory in the November 2024 governorship election were peaceful, while the poll itself was acknowledged by all stakeholders as peaceful, free, and fair.
Ajulo rejected claims of a “third-term ambition,” affirming that the governor’s focus is solely on the four-year “OUR EASE” mandate renewed in November 2024.
He dismissed allegations of misuse of state funds for personal legal matters as “baseless rumour,” stating, “Under my watch as attorney-general, not a kobo has been expended on legal matters where Aiyedatiwa is sued privately or personally.”
Invoking Sections 373–381 of the Criminal Code Act and the common-law tort of libel, Ajulo warned that the false imputations of criminality, corruption, and gross incompetence constitute libel per se and carry “precarious liabilities.”
He placed Adedayo and any sponsors on formal notice of intent to pursue full legal redress.
He restated that Aiyedatiwa is “a tested, compassionate, divinely positioned servant-leader” who has delivered stability, empathy, and accelerated progress while honouring past legacies and adding bold new strides.
“The sun of Ondo state shines brighter than ever. No amount of sponsored vitriol from merchants of falsehood can dim it,” Ajulo concluded. (NAN)
