News Update

Silence, they say, can be golden—but in the case of Engr. Ade Adetimehin, it is becoming the iron chain tethering the APC in Ondo State to a crumbling moral cliff.

The recent drama unraveling in Ondo West, where nine ward chairmen are openly canvassing support for Senator Adegbonmire ahead of the APC primary election, has exposed the festering rot that has long plagued the party under Adetimehin’s watch.

That he has chosen to fold his arms in the face of this blatant abuse of party regulations is not just a failure of leadership; it is an insult to the principles of internal democracy.

Adetimehin, nearing the twilight of his eight-year reign as party chairman, is proving that longevity in office does not always translate to wisdom or fairness. It is no longer a secret that these erring chairmen are acting under his nod of approval—an endorsement stealthily delivered through his close ally, Hon. Mrs. Fagbemi, who has become the shadow regent of the APC in Ondo West. If Fagbemi is the visible hand of control, then Adetimehin is the puppeteer cloaked in silence, orchestrating loyalty to a preferred aspirant in broad daylight while the rest of the party watches in horror.

What justification could exist for the chairman of a ruling party to keep mute while ward officials openly violate the constitution of the party by campaigning when INEC is yet to declare campaigns open?

The silence is deafening, the complicity disgraceful. Rather than calling these errant officials to order, Adetimehin has provided them an invisible shield, confirming fears that he is no longer a fair umpire, but a biased conductor in a one-sided political orchestra.

Under his leadership, the APC in Ondo has transformed from a thriving political institution into a fiefdom where loyalty to the king matters more than loyalty to truth. Grassroots voices have been muzzled, alternative opinions buried, and transparency traded for manipulation. His repeated silence in the face of corruption has become his signature—an echo of indifference that reverberates through every ward, every unit, every faithful who once believed in the purity of the party.

Party stalwarts are whispering louder now: how can a man who cannot rein in nine chairmen be trusted to unify an entire party for victory? Although,these ward chairmen never worked for Ayedatiwa during Primaries. They were merely planted within excos as loyalists to him and Hon.Lola Fagbemi. The Ondo West saga has lifted the veil from Adetimehin’s leadership, revealing not a steward but a schemer—one who clings to power, not to serve, but to secure personal relevance through anointed proxies.

What stings most is the barefaced defiance of process. These chairmen, emboldened by Adetimehin’s silence, act like royalty, not representatives. Their open allegiance to Adegbonmire—well before any campaign window—has mocked the very essence of party discipline. And the man who should have blown the whistle is comfortably seated in a self-built tower of silence, watching the house he built collapse in slow motion.

It is no longer about Adetimehin’s years in office—it is about the legacy he leaves behind. The people have had enough. The masquerade has danced too long on the village square. His leadership, once held in cautious respect, has now become a metaphor for impunity, partisanship, and tactical sabotage.

As the APC prepares for another defining moment in its history, one truth must echo across its structures: if this party must rise again in Ondo, it must do so without the weight of Adetimehin’s faltering hand. The fire that once fueled hope has now become smoke choking the party’s future.

© Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Voice Air Media.