Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Saturday watched the final of the English FA Cup just as the state government dismissed rumour that he had died.
A video of the governor watching the match between Manchester City and Manchester United on a large television screen was posted via his Twitter account.
The video came with the message “Efi Okan bale Red Devils. E mu omi. We will win this game” which translates to “Don’t worry Red Devils. Drink Water. We will win this game.”
Akeredolu’s team Manchester United however lost by 1-2 to their city rivals.
Anxiety over Akeredolu’s health thickened on Friday after the Social Democratic Party (SDP) called on the state government to provide information about his health.
There was also speculation that the 66-year-old former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president had died in a hospital abroad.
Dismissing the death rumour, the state commissioner for information Bamidele Ademola-Olateju said in a statement on Saturday, “We have been inundated with calls and messages concerning the state of health of the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON. We had chosen to ignore this wicked fabrication until it appeared that certain people sought to draw political mileage from the disinformation.
“Though the Governor has been indisposed, he has been attending to state matters and delegating functions to functionaries of the government when necessary.
“We enjoin the members of the public to ignore the rumour. Aketi is very much alive.”
