Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, has dismissed accusations of physically harming his wife, describing them as an excessive politicization of the matter.
In a statement released on Sunday in Akure, his spokesperson, Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson, quoted Aiyedatiwa as asserting that the allegations were unfounded and originated from an unidentified group. It should be noted that social media had been circulating news of the deputy governor’s alleged assault on his wife.
The statement however emphasized the deputy governor’s right to privacy, especially regarding his family, and stated that there had been no previous incidents of domestic violence as claimed, as Aiyedatiwa’s wife, Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa, is currently abroad.
The statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the Office of the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, that a baseless and false report credited to a faceless group alleging the deputy governor of domestic abuse and assault on his wife.
“This falsehood and its peddlers would have ordinarily been ignored at this time but the need to halt further negative reports and rumours capable of creating needless tension in our state has necessitated this response.
“The said 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.
“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 the 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 on causing a crisis where there is none.
“And we therefore warn those spreading such falsehood to desist or face the consequences.”
