A legal practitioner, Mr Allen Sowore, has condemned the alleged continued stay of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, in Ibadan, saying there was a need for the state House of Assembly to take action on the matter.
Governor Akeredolu, who returned to the country last month, from a medical vacation in Germany, has since been staying in his personal residence in Ibadan, Oyo State. The development has been generating reactions in the state.
Sowore, in a statement on Friday, said the absence of Akeredolu, has affected many things in the state.
According to him, the development requires the House of Assembly to adopt the doctrine of necessity in line with the Constitution.
He said, “Goodluck Jonathan, as Nigeria’s vice President, was supposed to act as President and discharge the duties of the office as Acting President whenever his boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was not around in reference to section 145 of the 1999 Constitution. Unfortunately, the President who had been battling with diverse life-threatening ailments didn’t transmit a letter to the National Assembly under the aforesaid section of the Constitution.
“This eventually led to the invocation of the Doctrine of Necessity. The doctrine of necessity is the basis on which extra-legal actions by state actors, which are designed to restore order are found to be constitutional.
“The present political quagmire in Ondo State is akin to the same above. Interestingly, the doctrine of necessity is now enshrined in the Constitution. All that is left is for the state actors to act”
“It is no secret that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN CON has been absent and unavailable to perform his duties since 3rd April 2023, leaving the state without governance and direction. His recent staged return from Germany and the subsequent submission of a resumption letter to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly have exposed the challenges the cabal has been hiding from the people. Since this orchestrated return, no one in the state has seen or heard from the governor.
“Hence, it is imperative and patriotic for the state House of Assembly to utilise and invoke the various provisions in the Constitution under these circumstances, specifically.”
The lawyer also urged the Assembly to apply Section 190 (2) of the 1999 Constitution by passing a resolution mandating the deputy governor to act as the governor in the interest of the state.
“Section 189 (4) of the 1999 Constitution: If the Assembly deems that the governor’s health has deteriorated to the extent that he may no longer possess the physical and mental capacity to effectively carry out the demanding day-to-day operations of the government, the Assembly, through the speaker, should establish a medical panel to assess the governor’s health condition, ensuring uninterrupted governance in our beloved Sunshine State.
“These are duties that the Constitution imposes on the speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, and it is essential to discharge them dutifully and patriotically to prevent the state from slipping into anarchy due to a lack of governance,” he said.
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