Folasade Adu, a former aide to Ondo State’s immediate past First Lady, Mrs. Betty Akeredolu, says she and her husband decided to convert the latter’s taxi cab to a campaign vehicle during late Rotimi Akeredolu for reelection campaign, thinking that they would be recognised and duly compensated.
The car subsequently became unroadworthy and they had to sell it off for N100,000, following which the aide’s husband has since been jobless.
This is a part of Folasade’s tales of abandonment by the widowed First Lady, whom she claimed to have served for seven years. She said when she left Mrs. Akeredolu’s service, she did not get any compensation whatsoever and that she is flat broke and in need of financial help.
She narrates, “My husband is not doing anything for now. He was working before. The vehicle he was using for a taxi, we used for Akeredolu’s second term campaign, hoping that after the campaign, we would get something. Unfortunately, the vehicle got bad, and we had to sell it at the rate of N100,000.
“I want the people of Ondo State to help me because, as of now, there is nothing. I have been thinking and crying every day. I need help to reopen my shop.”
The former aide spoke in an interview with Ondo-based journalist, Prince Olujimi Adekale, on Monday, April 22, 2024.
Delving into her narration, Folasade claims, “I worked for Her Excellency (Mrs Betty Akeredolu) for more than seven years. When I was going, she did not give me anything. I worked with her for srven years as her makeup artist. I used to make her hair (when she was still making her hair) and do her pedicure.
“I was paid N50,000 then, but I usually gave back N5,000 to BRECAN. They would have deducted the N5,000 before the salary was paid. They called it ‘give back to BRECAN’. Another N100 was also usually deducted as charges. So, it was N44,900 that usually gets to me as salary at the end of the month.”
“She (Betty Akeredolu) said we would give back 10% of our salary to BRECAN.”
BRECAN is an acronym for the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria, founded by Mrs. Akeredolu in 1997 after she survived breast cancer.
Continuing, Folasade stated, “I left working with her after the final burial of her husband (Rotimi Akeredolu). When I was to leave, her daughter asked me what I was going to be doing, and I sent her a business proposal of about N4m to reopen my studio.
“Till now, they did not get back to me. I sent a text message to Betty Akeredolu that I needed help and that she was my last hope, that she should render help to me, but she said there was no help that she could render because she is now out of office.
“I usually reach out to her to help me. She once told me that since I have a passport, she would take me out of the country, but till now, nothing.
“I used to have a shop, but I lost all my customers during my service to the ex-First Lady. So, right now, I’m just at home doing nothing.
“There’s nowhere she went to in Nigeria that I didn’t follow her. I even worked as her personal assistant.
“I want the people of Ondo State to help me because, as of now, there is nothing. I have been thinking and crying every day. My husband is in need of a job and I need help to reopen my shop.”
