By Hon Leye Igbabo
The Nigerian Fourth Republic, which began in 1999, has produced many political ironies. But none is as consistent, and as cruel, as the fate of the deputy governor.
From Lagos to Ondo, from first term to second term, the story repeats itself: a running mate celebrated on a joint ticket, only to be reduced to a political errand boy, a ceremonial figure, or a target for impeachment once power is secured.
If this were an isolated case, we could blame personalities. But 27 years of the same pattern, forces us to ask a harder question: Who is really behind the deputy governor’s ordeal? The governor or the system?
A History of Broken Partnerships
The template was set early. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then governor of Lagos, worked with two deputies: Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele and later Mr. Femi Pedro. Both relationships ended in public strain and resignation.
In Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko also went through two deputies: Alhaji Ali Olanusi and Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo. Both relationships did not seem to end well.
Then came Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu. A blunt, no-nonsense lawyer-governor, Akeredolu had issues first with Hon. Agboola Ajayi, a shrewd, ambitious politician. That friction could be explained away as a clash of egos.
But what followed was more troubling. His chosen replacement, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, faced something far worse: open humiliation. During the dark months of Governor Akeredolu’s illness, the deputy governor was sidelined, stripped of power and left at the mercy of a kitchen cabinet. At a point, orders were said to be coming not from the deputy’s office, but from the governor’s own son, Babajide “Baba” Akeredolu, a fresh graduate with no constitutional role.
Lucky Aiyedatiwa had no godfather to shield him. He survived impeachment attempts only by the narrowest margin and, ultimately, by divine intervention following the death of his principal. He was sworn in as substantive governor.
The Irony of Power
Now, the wheel has turned. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has Dr. Olayide Adelami as his deputy, elected on the same joint ticket, with the same constitutional mandate.
Yet reports from Ondo suggest that Deputy Governor Adelami is already facing the same treatment: marginalization, protocol breaches and even whispers of impeachment.
The most painful image is this: an appointee being placed ahead of an elected deputy governor at public functions. It is a brazen statement. It says: your mandate does not matter.
This is where the irony becomes unbearable. How does a man who was nearly destroyed by the same system turn around and inflict it on another?
I refuse to believe it is about Governor Aiyedatiwa’s character alone. A man who knows the pain of political isolation would, ordinarily, be the last to recreate it.
It Is The System, Not Just The Man
This suggests the problem is deeper than individual governors. It is structural.
The 1999 Constitution makes the deputy governor a spare tyre. The office has no clearly defined duties beyond “assist the governor.” All powers are delegated, not inherent. The governor controls the budget, appointments, and political structure. The deputy controls nothing, except the title “His/Her Excellency.”
In that vacuum, the deputy becomes a threat by default. A potential successor. A rival in waiting. And so, governors, regardless of how progressive or empathetic they are, begin to cage them. Cabals fill the space. Appointees become more powerful than elected deputies.
Tinubu did it. Mimiko did it. Akeredolu did it. And now, the man who suffered it most, Aiyedatiwa, appears to be repeating it. If good men cannot resist the system, then the system is the problem.
Time For Constitutional Surgery
We have two options left.
Option 1: Define the Office. The Constitution must be amended to give deputy governors clear, independent functions, in areas like SME development, intergovernmental affairs, or special projects with statutory budget lines. They should not have to beg for relevance.
Option 2: Scrap the Office. If we are not ready to dignify it, let us abolish it. It is cruel to keep electing people into an office designed for humiliation. Let governors run alone and appoint a “Chief of Staff” if they need help.
Keeping the status quo is to continue wasting talent and breeding political bitterness. This is what misplacement is all about. It is how talent is wasted on idleness.
Conclusion
The ordeal of Deputy Governor Olayide Adelami is not just an Ondo problem. It is a Nigerian problem. It is the story of Kofoworola, of Femi Pedro, of Olanusi, of Agboola, of Lucky himself.
Until we review the law and restore dignity to the office of deputy governor, we will keep producing governors who were once victims, and who later become victimizers.
The system made them. And the system will keep breaking them unless we change it.
Hon Leye Igbabo is a social commentator and public affairs analyst
