Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu CON SAN ((Listenⓘ); 21 July 1956 – 27 December 2023) was a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as governor of Ondo State from 2017[1] until his death in 2023.
[7][11] Akeredolu began his legal career as a junior counsel with the law firm, GM Ibru & Co.[12] He was appointed Attorney General of Ondo State from 1997 to 1999.
[14] In a lecture in December 2009, Akeredolu said no amount of electoral reform or judicial system could give Nigeria free and fair elections if Nigerians themselves refused to take practical steps to ensure that their votes count.
[15][16] Later that month he stated that Umaru Yar'Adua, the President of Nigeria should have handed over to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during his illness, a statement that was backed up by the Nigerian Bar Association who said he was authorized to speak on their behalf.
"[18] On 4 February 2022, Akeredolu was named Grand Patron of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by its chairman, retired Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa.
[19] In November 2011, Akeredolu was among a crowd of aspirants to be the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate for governor of Ondo State in the 2012 elections.
[22] His selection pitched him in a head-to-head battle with the incumbent, Olusegun Mimiko and Olusola Oke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to professor Ganiyu Ambali, INEC Returning Officer, Akeredolu defeated his two major opponents Jegede and Oke, to clinch victory.
[3] On 29 July 2020, Akeredolu picked Lucky Aiyedatiwa as his running mate for the 2020 Ondo State Governorship election after the controversy between the Governor and his deputy, Agboola Ajayi.
[38] Akeredolu died 15 days later on 27 December, at age 67 in a German hospital where he was receiving treatment, with his cause of death being given as leukaemia and prostate cancer.
[39][40] In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) was conferred on Akeredolu by President Muhammadu Buhari.