Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has sacked his Special Assistant on Forestry (Central Senatorial District), Adeboye Taofiq Ewenla, over N30 million bribery allegations levelled against him.
Aiyedatiwa in a statement by his spokesman Ebenezer Adeniyan said the dismissal takes immediate effect and ordered that a probe be conducted into the allegations.
Ewenla in a leaked audio demanded the sum of N30 million from timber traders operating in the state with a threat that failure to pay the amount will lead to their expulsion from the forest reserves.
Infuriated by the demand of the governor’s aide, the timber traders vowed to embark on protest following an alleged claim by Ewenla that he was acting on Aiyedatiwa’s order.
The traders who were said to have expressed disbelief at the demand of Ewenla stressed that such an amount was unrealistic, as their profits do not reach that level in a year, with a member of the timber traders’ union, who spoke under anonymity, describing the demand as “criminal and oppressive. We are struggling to survive under harsh policies, and now they want to extort us with outrageous demands.”
Meanwhile, Aiyedatiwa, who disclosed that Ewenla will soon be replaced, stated that the activities of everyone manning the forest reserves across the state would be looked into.
He said: “The Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has dismissed from office the Special Assistant on Forestry (Central Senatorial District), Mr. Adeboye Taofiq Ewenla, with immediate effect.
“This followed allegations of bribery and intimidation levelled against Mr. Ewenla by some timber merchants in the state.
“Governor Aiyedatiwa also ordered a probe into the activities of those saddled with the responsibility of managing forest reserves in the state.
“A replacement for Mr. Ewenla will be announced in due course. The Governor urged all political appointees to conduct themselves in line with the provisions of the law and rules guiding their duties.”
