Nigeria: Ajimobi vs Akeredolu – two widows, two paths through Tinubu’s political machine

Nigeria: Ajimobi vs Akeredolu – two widows, two paths through Tinubu’s political machine

Florence Ajimobi has turned her husband’s political network into continuing influence, while Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu’s break with the All Progressives Congress exposes the limits of inherited power.

By Oladimeji Ramon

Published on September 07, 2026 at 06:00 am (GMT +1)

When two prominent allies of President Bola Tinubu died, their widows inherited more than famous surnames. Abiola Ajimobi, former governor of Oyo State, and Rotimi Akeredolu, his counterpart in Ondo, had spent years building political networks within the movement that eventually carried Tinubu to Nigeria’s presidency.

Their deaths left behind supporters, party structures and relationships that could be converted into political influence. Their widows have done so in very different ways.