Palpable joy enveloped Akure, the Ondo State capital, Thursday, as news filtered that ailing Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, has to Nigeria after a three-month medical leave in Germany where he had been obtaining treatment for cancer.
A report by Television Continental, TVC, quoting government sources, said the Governor arrived Ibadan, Oyo State, where cabinet members are expected to brief him on activities of government in during his absence.
The governor was diagnosed with cancer of the blood (leukaemia) in January 2023 and was admitted to a hospital in Oyo State. But when there was no significant improvement in his condition, he got a referral to a German hospital where he had been since June 2023.
Before he left the country on the medical leave on June 7, 2023, Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, had followed due process and notified the Ondo State House of Assembly that he was embarking on medical leave effective June 7 to July 6, 2023. He also informed the assembly that he had transmitted power to his deputy, Chief Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
But he had to extend the leave indefinitely to allow proper recuperation, according to explanation by government at the time.
While in Germany, photos and video of the Governor in hospital surfaced online where he was celebrating his 67th birthday with his wife and close aides. A viral picture of the Governor Akeredolu inside the aircraft that conveyed him from Germany has gone viral online.