The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Ayedatiwa, has debunked allegations of beating his wife, Oluwaseun.
Ayedetiwa made the clarification following an allegation by a civil society group, Society for Women Empowerment (SWE), that he physically assaulted his wife twice in the last four months.
In a statement issued by National Coordinator, Mrs Damilola Charles, SWE alleged that staff and friends of the deputy governor have witnessed him beating his wife up.
Describing wife beating as a civil rights problem of enormous magnitude, the SWE National Coordinator said the campaign on violence against women must be applicable to elected officers in the country.
However, Ayedatiwa denied physically assaulting his wife as claimed by the civil society group.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson, the deputy governor described the allegation as “baseless” and political blackmail carried by a “faceless” group.
He warned that such weighty allegation of domestic abuse against him could create tension in the state.
“The allegation of domestic abuse against the person of the deputy governor is a figment of the imagination of those behind it and their ungodly intentions to cause crisis in the State had been known for weeks and therefore such falsehood did not come as a surprise.
“While His Excellency reserves the right to privacy on issues pertaining to his family, it is pertinent to state clearly that there has never been any domestic violence between the Deputy Governor and his lovely wife, Mrs. Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa, who at the moment is outside the shores of the country.
” It is not a secret that Mrs. Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa has lived and worked in the United Kingdom for many years before her husband became an elected public official in Nigeria and since then she has been shuttling between United Kingdom and Nigeria to take care of the home and the children who are also in the United Kingdom.
“Therefore, any report of alleged domestic issues within the family should be taken as the handiwork of the enemies of the State who are bent of causing crisis where there is none and we therefore warn those spreading such falsehood to desist or face the consequences.
” It is concerning to see that a faceless group said to be headed by a name not known anywhere in the State could sell such fabrication to media men.
“It is more concerning, however, that such lie, which was not backed with any evidence whatsoever, could be promoted into a news item by journalists.
“In the last four months quoted in the false report as timeline, His Excellency has been busy with official duties of his office and has during the period performed the duties of the office of the Governor as delegated to him by his boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, while he was on Leave.
“It is therefore uncharitable for anyone to claim that the Deputy Governor has in that period carried out “multiple assaults” on his spouse who is out of the country. This is nothing but political blackmail taken too far.”
The statement urged the good people of Ondo State to ignore the “falsehood”, noting that its purveyors might be plotting for attacks on the deputy governor to promote their nefarious agenda.
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