Ondo First Lady, Betty Akeredolu Declares For Imo East Senatorial Seat

The wife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Akeredolu, has declared her intention to run for the Imo East Senatorial District election in 2023.

She described her intention as to lead the leadership conversation on behalf of her people from Imo East.

Akeredolu stated this during an interaction with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Imo Council, on Friday, in Owerri.

She said that her decision to run for the Senate, under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, stemmed from the neglect of the senatorial district by successive administrations and legislators.

According to her, the level of neglect has made the district remote and helpless, despite the rapid urbanisation of other parts of the state.

She decried the poor refuse disposal system in the area and the high number of preventable deaths, especially among women, occasioned by the lack of standard medical facilities in the senatorial district.

The governor’s wife, who noted that she had never lost touch with her biological birthplace in the last 40 years that she had gotten married, said that she was conversant with developments at home.

“I have a deep interest in human capital development and a deep-seated desire to improve the lives of my people from Imo. Leadership is not gender-specific,” she said.

Akeredolu said, “I have demonstrated this ability to handle the position with the many development projects I had attracted to my community in the past.

“I have ensured that my development projects, as the wife of a sitting governor, are extended to my state of origin.

“I attracted the construction of a 10.5km road, worth N1.6 billion from Niger Delta Development Commission and it is currently under construction.

“I have also sponsored no fewer than 200 girls, with technological knowledge and a special focus on Information Communication Technology, among others,” she said.