Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo, had his signature forged on an important document. Razaq Obe, the state commissioner for energy and mineral resources, insisted on Friday that Akeredolu’s signature was forged, raising more questions than answers.
This claim was made by Obe in a letter addressed to Hon. Lucky Ayedatiwa, the state deputy governor. Obe claimed that the anomalies were found in a document that was returned to his ministry via the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) office.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Commissioner stated that he needed to send the signature to forensic specialists for verification of its authenticity, adding that it was verified that the dubious signature and handwriting were fake.
“I write to bring to your attention a critical matter that requires immediate action,” stated Obe in the letter. It has been verified that a particular document bears a fake signature belonging to Mr. Governor.
“The signature anomalies were initially noticed when a file from my ministry was returned to the State Government (SSG) via the Secretary’s office.
Out of the five files that were sent for Mr. Governor’s approval around two months ago, this is the only one that has been returned thus far.
“After closely examining the file, I found notable discrepancies between Mr. Governor’s known signatures and handwriting and the suspicious signature and handwriting.”
He went on to say, “I chose to get a forensic assessment before sharing my discovery because I was worried about the seriousness of the matter. I supplied copies of the old regular signatures, samples of the suspect signature, and handwriting to forensic experts, who have confirmed that the suspicious signature and handwriting were really faked.
As the second in command of the State Executive Council after the Governor, I have decided to carry out my official duties and disclose this concerning development to you, despite the potential risks involved. In my opinion, our distinguished leader, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, would act in this manner in a similar circumstance.
“The government and people of Ondo State greatly value this heads-up, given the possibility that such forgery may be widespread.” For your information, I’ve included a copy of the forensic report along with the pertinent file pages.
“I implore you to give this the serious attention it requires and to act appropriately to resolve the issue.
“It is imperative that we rectify this troubling development as soon as possible and restore the integrity of our processes.”
