The political impasse enveloping Ondo State following the absence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu may soon come to an end as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other critical stakeholders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), have agreed to invoke the doctrine of necessity to proclaim the embattled deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa as acting governor of the state.
President Tinubu met with some members of Akeredolu’s cabinet and Ondo State lawmakers at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where they took the decision.
Akeredolu, who returned from Germany on September 7, has not been in the state since his return. He is in his private residence in Ibadan, where he is said to be recuperating.
With this resolution, Ondo State House of Assembly may reconvene on Monday to invoke the doctrine of necessity to proclaim Aiyedatiwa with full powers to govern the state.
“The doctrine of necessity is the basis on which extraordinary actions by administrative authority, which are designed to restore order or uphold fundamental constitutional principles, are considered to be lawful even if such an action contravenes established constitution, laws, norms, or conventions.”
This doctrine became popular in Nigeria in 2010 during a logjam created by the long absence of former Umar Yar’Adua from the country over his health status and the deliberate actions of some members of his cabinet to sideline Dr Goodluck Jonathan from being installed as the Acting President.
The ailing Yar’dua was hospitalised in Saudi Arabia and was unable to formally transfer the instrument of office to his deputy.
The National Assembly intervened by invoking the doctrine of necessity to proclaim Goodluck Jonathan as acting president without recourse to constitutional niceties that require such a proclamation to be done by the ailing president.
This resulted in speedy restoration of normalcy and order that enabled Nigeria to make progress in managing state affairs.
A source confided in The Guardian that President Tinubu, had been worried over the political development in the state following the long absence of Akeredolu from the state and the power play that had divided commissioners and lawmakers in the state.
Apart from the President and other key officers of the presidency, national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje; Aiyedatiwa, Ondo State Secretary to the Government (SSG) Oladuni Odu; former national chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande; Chief Patrick Ayo Akinyelure, the state commissioner of finance Wale Akinrinwa; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji; APC chairman in the state, Ade Adetimehin and some members of the National Assembly from the state attended the meeting.
It was gathered that the wife of the ailing governor, Mrs Betty Akeredolu and his son Babajide, who were at the Villa for the meeting were not allowed entrance into the meeting venue where the critical decision was taken.
The decision to install Aiyedatiwa as acting governor came on the heels of impeachment plot against him, which has divided cabinet members and members of the state House of Assembly.
The state has been in turmoil over the impeachment plot against the deputy governor. The Guardian findings revealed that before the meeting, 11 out of the 26 lawmakers had aligned with Aiyedatiwa’s camp, with the goal of ensuring that the deputy governor assumes the role of acting governor.
Earlier yesterday, the 11 lawmakers had planned to convene at the Assembly in order to discuss and reach a consensus on the matter. However, the sitting was postponed with the intention of awaiting the outcome of a meeting involving Tinubu and other stakeholders.
During a visit by The Guardian to the Ondo State House of Assembly Complex, the atmosphere of the premise was calm, with the usual security operatives at the complex mounting the gate and checking vehicles before allowing entry.
Recall that the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and some traditional and religious elders in the state had a few days ago appealed to Tinubu to wade in the state’s political imbroglio.
Only last week, some cabinet members passed a vote of confidence on Akeredolu because of what they described as his “exemplary leadership style”, which they said has been rewarding to the people and the state at large.
The communiqué was signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Oladunni Odu; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Olugbenga Ale; the Head of Service, Kayode Ogundele; 16 Commissioners; and 12 Special Advisers.
However, Commissioner for Energy, Mines, and Mineral Resources, Razaq Obe, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Cooperative, Akinwumi Sowore, did not sign the communiqué, and Aiyedatiwa was also not present on the list.
According to findings by The Guardian, it was revealed that both the camp of the governor and Aiyedatiwa had initially scrambled on how to get the exco on their side.
A top source within the cabinet disclosed that some persons loyal to the deputy governor were the first to make the move to secure the signatures of substantial numbers of cabinet members in order to pass a vote of no confidence on the governor.