14th of October, 2023
PRESS RELEASE
A CALL ON THE ONDO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY TO PASS A
RESOLUTION EMPOWERING THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF ONDO STATE TO CONTINUE TO FUNCTION AS THE ACTING GOVERNOR
PENDING THE RESUMPTION OF HIS EXCELLENCY, ARAKUNRIN
ROTIMI AKEREDOLU SAN
BACKGROUND
It is not in doubt that the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu SAN returned to Nigeria from his three-months medical leave on the 7th of September, 2023 and resumed the next day at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State. He has remained
there for a cumulative period of over thirty-six days.
Although, he made two public appearances, that is, when he held A State Exco meeting and when he received the national leadership of the APC. Nothing has been heard from him since then in terms of performance of his duties as Governor. In that, he has not summoned any State Exco meeting, he did not address the state on independence day, he has not attended the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja and has not received any of the Traditional Rulers who have made concerted
efforts to see him. The net effect of these visible inaction has raised the question:
“is the Governor of the State in a position to continue to function and discharge his duties?” Without mincing words, the answer is No! The constitution does not envisage a
situation where a governor who wrote a letter of resumption will remain outside the state for more than a month without being seen publicly or without carrying out any executive action relating to his office.
It is not the intention of the drafters of the constitution that a governor will resume from a medical vacation only to unofficially commence another medical vacation. As human beings, we are bound to fall sick at one point or the other in our life time. To this end, we support the governor in his decision to seek medical attention and
take time to recuperate in any location of his choice.
What we do not advocate for, is his decision to hold the state to ransom; by allegedly indicating that he has resumed when he cannot effectively discharge his duties as Governor.
It is beyond doubt that Ibadan, Oyo State does not fall within the geographical area where his power extends to as a governor of Ondo State. Oyo State is a semi-autonomous federating unit with her own governor. Governor Akeredolu SAN is an eminent lawyer and he knows that he cannot govern Ondo State from Ibadan or remain outside the state indefinitely because he has notified the Speaker of his resumption. You cannot resume in Ibadan without stepping into your office to perform official duties assigned to you by the constitution.
It must be noted that assenting to a Bill with a constitutional flavour in Ibadan is an illegality and an invalid action. However, the LCDA Law is not the focus of this Press release.
We run a constitutional democracy which has envisaged that from time to time, the Governor may require assistance. Hence, the Office of the Deputy Governor was created. A Deputy Governor operates a joint ticket with the substantive Governor.
Therefore, where the Governor is absent, his second in command takes charge. His Excellency, Lucky Ayedatiwa, in the absence of the Governor, discharged the duties
of the office of Governor with alacrity, finese and with efficiency. Presently, there is a power vacuum in the state which is being exploited by a faceless group of unelected aides of the Governor who are mostly from Owo Local Government. They are the ones dropping the name of the Governor to contrive a civilian coup in the name of impeachment which is not only ill advised but uncalled for at this point.
The state cannot be held at the mercy of these unelected aides who are latching on to the absence of the Governor.
THE WAY FORWARD
Therefore, we hereby call on the Ondo State House of Assembly to immediately:
- Pass a Resolution mandating the Deputy Governor of Ondo State to continue to function as the Acting Governor of Ondo State pending when the Governor will be fit enough to function. This will be in line with the doctrine of necessity.
The House of Assembly will enjoy the support of all and sundry if they muster the courage to pass this Resolution because the state cannot continue to remain in limbo and at the
mercy of some unelected aides when there is a Deputy Governor elected on a joint ticket. The Legislature remains the custodian of the laws and they should be seen to be acting in that manner because they hold the key to the resolution of this intractable
imbroglio; and
- Terminate the purported impeachment process which was commenced at the behest of these unelected aides and loyalist of Governor Akeredolu SAN. We are convinced that the Governor of Ondo State is not a party to this illegality.
CONCLUSION
We believe that the Ondo State House of Assembly will save the state from the current constitutional crisis occasioned by the long absence of the Governor of Ondo State. Allow the Deputy Governor to function as the acting governor pending the full recovery of the Governor.
Thank you.
Nathaniel Adebiyi
For: The concerned Indigenes of Ondo State
