•••Says Ondo Govt Hiding Behind Blackmail Excuse
The political tension in Ondo State deepened on Sunday as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration of using claims of “blackmail” to divert attention from what it described as “rising incompetence, corruption, and deceit” in government.
In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Public Communications, WándéÀjàyí, the opposition party described Saturday’s statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, as “a rant from a paranoid government afraid of public accountability.”
Ajanaku had, on Saturday, warned that the government would no longer tolerate “acts of blackmail, cyberbullying, or coordinated attacks” against the governor and senior state officials — a position the PDP now calls “a desperate attempt to silence dissent.”
“The only people blackmailing Ondo State today are those occupying Alagbaka,” Àjàyí said. “This government has turned governance into a bazaar of deceit, propaganda, and self-glorification.”
The opposition party accused the Aiyedatiwa administration of lacking transparency, calling on the government to publish details of contractors, payments, and budget implementation records for 2025.
“If truly this government has nothing to hide, let it publish its spending records instead of issuing meaningless press statements,” the PDP said. “A government drowning in scandals and waste has no moral right to lecture anyone on integrity.”
The statement further accused the government of neglecting public welfare, citing stalled projects, unpaid obligations, and what it called “the collapse of critical sectors,” including education and health.
“AAUA has been on strike for two months, hospitals are failing, schools are unconducive, and Ondo South is nearly cut off,” the PDP alleged. “Yet the government is more interested in chasing shadows than solving real problems.”
The opposition also warned against the “misuse of the Cybercrime Act” to intimidate critics, saying such efforts to gag public voices would fail.
“Governor Aiyedatiwa should face his job,” Àjàyí added. “The people did not elect him to trade insults with imaginary enemies but to govern responsibly.”
The statement concluded by accusing the administration of “failing the test of moral conduct and good governance,” insisting that truth must be demonstrated through transparent leadership, not threats or propaganda.
