• Makes case for mineral resources exploitation
From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has said Monday ruling of an Appeal Court, sitting in Abuja, has no effect on his continuous stay in office as the governor of the state.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Segun Ajiboye, the governor explained that the court ruling did not affect his office as governor of Ondo State.
He said: “The ruling of the Appeal Court is being unnecessarily blown out of proportion as a result of ignorance.
“What the Court of Appeal ruled on was whether the service of the originating process on the All Progressive Congress (APC) secretariat in Abuja, instead of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was right or not.
“It is, therefore, surprising that this simple ruling is being twisted and misrepresented to the people.”
An APC governorship aspirant in the state, Mr Segun Abraham, went to court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Governor Akeredolu as the governorship candidate of APC in the last gubernatorial election.
However, Governor Akeredolu had appealed the ruling of Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who ruled that an application for interim injunction sought by Abraham be heard.
The statement stressed that Governor Akeredolu took the matter to the Appeal Court, which gave the latest ruling.
“It is important to note that the Court of Appeal ruling borders on whether the service of the originating process on APC secretariat in Abuja was proper service on Akeredolu. The substantive case is yet to commence.
“For the governor, as a senior lawyer who is convinced that a case can only be founded on proper service of the originating processes, he has directed that the ruling be appealed in the overall interest of the development of the law.”
Meanwhile, Governor Akeredolu has called for the exploitation of natural resources available in the state.The governor, who said over 90 percent of the natural resources in the state were yet to be exploited for human and economic development, stressed the need for the exploitation of resources in all parts of the state.
Besides, the governor called for the encouragement of public-private partnership in the exploitation of mineral resources in the state.
Akeredolu, who spoke at the first Ondo State investment forum in Akure, said: “With its large population, Ondo State exhibits tremendous potential for high productivity of both human and material resources.”