Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu is under fire in Ondo state for appointing 26-year-old Owerri-born Ngozi Ugochi-Igbo as a Special Assistant on Gender, Research and Documentation.
Ngozi’s appointment was announced on Sunday, to the shock and disappointment of some of the residents because she is from Owerri, Imo state.
Some other residents however welcomed the appointment.
An Ondo indigene who once lived in Enugu, Lulu Fawehinmi said he was once appointed an SA to the Governor of Enugu State.
“It’s unfortunate that some people have stayed so long in a society within the west. In 2013, I was a young man working in Enugu as an errand boy. The Governor then, appointed me as an SA. Heaven didn’t come down. Stop being tribal. One Nigeria”
However, according to a report by Africa Today News, some loyalists of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Ondo are not happy, that Ngozi has taken what should be their entitlement.
Wole Babalola described the move as a deliberate slap on the faces of APC members who he said were yet to be compensated for their electoral support for Akeredolu.
Babalola said the appointment had further dampened the morale of party members, particularly youths across the various wards.
“I’ve never seen a thing like this. It seems Governor Akeredolu is now telling us to our faces that we don’t amount to nothing despite our commitments and loyalty to him.
“I have never heard about name of this new appointee. She contributed nothing to the campaign. Now she is reaping from our sweat just because she is close to Betty. They are even saying that she is just her make-up artist. Can you just imagine,” he said.
Miss Ngozi Ugochi-Igbo, attended University of Benin from 2012-2017.
On her Facebook bio, she describes herself as an “aqua-culturist who served in the Office of the First Lady of Ondo State”.
In a post in support of justice for UNIBEN student, Omozuwa, she advocates that parents should allow their girls to learn taekwondo, to defend themselves against rapists.
“I think teakwondo should be added to extracurricular activities in our schools, children from nursery schools should be taught self defence.
“Most parents frown at the idea of engaging their daughters in taekwondo because they feel, it would make her more manly and a scarecrow for men. Parents can you please give your daughter a fighting chance?!”
It was believed Ngozi was appointed due to her close ties with Akeredolu’s wife, Betty, who also hails from Imo.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
