Chairman of South-West Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday, lashed out at the Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice and immediate past Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, over the claim by the duo that he worked against the emergence of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, at the polls.

Pointedly, Akeredolu said that the role he played in the recent presidential polls and other elections was a decisive factor, stressing that the people acted on their convictions based on the performance of his administration.

The governor was responding to a statement co-signed by Alasoadura and Borrofice, in which they accused him of not backing Tinubu . The duo had, in the statement, distanced themselves from Akeredolu’s stance on the 10th National Assembly’s leadership zoning arrangements.

The chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) described Akeredolu’s rejection of the zoning formula as public tantrum that was uncalled for. But the governor, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. Doyin Odebowale, described Borrofice and Alasoadura as bitter adversaries.

Akeredolu added that it was well-known that he had made Tinubu his obvious preference for president and had his unflinching support. The statement, titled “Hustling Till Twilight: A Sad Tale of Unrepentant Misanthropes,” reads in part: “The Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has left no one in doubt that he will always challenge any act, which suggests injustice or impropriety from any quarters. He has never been apologetic for standing by the people when others try to be politically correct.

“He has been a strong party man who has never failed to stand against all partisans of injustice. It is not a recompense for political grandstanding that the people of Ondo, South-West and indeed the entire South, in general, consider him the conscience of the country. He is not the type to play to the gallery to please any fleeting and parochial interests.

“The man Aketi does not need any introduction in Nigeria at present. His name is synonymous with forthrightness and courage, not treachery. He has been a relentless advocate for the downtrodden. He is not known for prevarication or equivocation. He fought the Federal Government for the establishment of the regional security outfit codenamed Amotekun to combat the menace of insecurity.

“His clear choice and support for the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was well documented. Any honest person was convinced of his role. Chief Tayo Alasoadura worked against the APC during the last elections.”