Lucky Aiyedatiwa was on Wednesday officially sworn in as the new governor of Ondo State by the state Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, in Akure, the state capital, at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the governor’s office.
His swearing-in follows the death of former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who died in the early hours of Wednesday after a protracted battle with Prostate Cancer and Leukemia.
As earlier reported by Naija News, Aiyedatiwa had to cut short his holiday and return to Akure for the swearing-in ceremony.
While taking his oath of office, Aiyedatiwa promised to always put the interest of the state above his personal interests.
He vowed that his actions in office would be guided by the provisions of the Nigerian constitution and promised to work in the best interest of the people of Ondo.
Below are ten things you should know about the new governor.
1. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa was born on 12 January 1965 and hails from Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
2. He obtained a Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in Economics and Government in 1986 from Lagos State College of Education (now Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education), Ijanikin, Lagos.
3. He later attended the University of Ibadan for an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration in 2001.
4. Lucky obtained Post Graduate Certification in Chief Executive Education (CEP) in Business Management in 2009 and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, in 2013.
5. He joined active politics in 2011 as a card-carrying member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later merged with other political parties and became the All Progressive Congress (APC).
6. He served as the federal commissioner who represented Ondo State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2018 to 2019.
7. He contested for the federal House of Representatives for Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency in the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly General Election.
8. He served as Ondo State’s deputy governor from 2021 to 2023 under Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
9. Lucky was previously acting governor from June to September 2023 and earlier in December when Akeredolu was on medical leave.
10. On 27 December 2023, Aiyedatiwa was sworn in as governor of Ondo State following the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.