Prevent further tension, adopt Gowon’s doctrine of necessity to resolve Ondo crisis, Clark urges Tinubu

By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja

Elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has described as unfortunate, the crisis created by the sickness of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

The foremost Ijaw Leader noted with concern that development was already brewing more tension even though President Bola Tinubu had intervened in the matter.

Clark stated this in an open letter to Tinubu, which was made available to journalists in Abuja.

He therefore urged the president to adopt the doctrine of necessity suggested by the eminent persons committee led by General Yakubu Gowon, which was used to resolve a similar logjam in 2010.

The nonagenarian said the crisis in Ondo State could snowball into a bloody crisis if not immediately checked.

Akeredolu returned to Nigeria on Thursday, September 7, 2023, after about three months of medical leave abroad, notably in Germany, and has remained in his Ibadan private home since then.

The state House of Assembly had rejected attempts to declare Akeredolu’s deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa acting governor and instead made desperate efforts to impeach him.

The development forced President Tinubu to intervene and ask the warring parties to maintain the status quo.

The latest alarm raised by Ondo State-born Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Kayode Ajulo, that some unnamed cabal of the ailing governor had allegedly forged his signature to enrich themselves, had sparked fresh controversies in the sunshine state.

Clark in his open letter said, “Mr. President, I think there is a need to act fast because we have seen that despite your good intentions, the crisis is brewing much tension rather than abating.

“There is a growing agitation for and against each of the parties. I listened to the argument of Barrister Kayode Ajulo, SAN, saying that whatever action that took place at the Villa, was unconstitutional and that there was enough provision in the Constitution to resolve the crisis.

“He went further to talk about the inability of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, whom he described as his friend, to perform his duties as Governor of the State whilst recuperating in his house in Ibadan, Oyo State.

“He went further to state that the signature on the memo allegedly sent to Governor Akeredolu was forged, as he said he is very conversant with the Governor’s signature. He suggested that the signature should be subjected to a forensic examination.

“My letter may come to you as a surprise because I am not from the South-West geopolitical zone, Ondo State in particular.

“But as a senior citizen of our dear country, I sincerely believe that we must give you support and advice in all ramifications. Every effort, should, therefore, be made, in this regard, to avert any crisis in any part of the country.

“The ongoing impasse in Ondo State can be likened to what happened when our dear late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was very ill.

“He (Yar’Adua) did not transmit a letter to the National Assembly by Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, to enable the then Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan to act as President.

“I wish to recall that during the time, the nation was almost grinding to a halt because there was no one administratively in charge of the affairs of the country.

“Various groups such as the Save Nigeria Group, led by Pastor Tunde Bakare and Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, socio-cultural organisations, ethnic organisations including some northern groups, the South-Western group led by Bishop Emmanuel Gbonigi, the Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo, etc, rose to protest in Lagos and Abuja.

“It was as though the nation was rudderless. It was at this stage that former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, rose to the occasion when he summoned a meeting of some eminent persons.

“They comprised late President Shehu Shagari, late Interim Head of State, Ernest Shonekan, late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, one time Vice President of the country, three former Chief Justices of Nigeria namely Alfa Belgore, Mohammed Uwais and Idris Legbo Kutigi.

“Others included Lt. Gen. T.Y Danjuma (retd), late Mallam Adamu Ciroma, late Alhaji Ahmed Joda, late Chief Solomon Lar, and myself. Prof Jerry Gana and Senator Jonathan Zwingina served as secretaries.

“The meeting was held at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja. This group became known as the Eminent Persons Group.

“At the meeting, Justice Alfa Belgore came up with the idea of the Doctrine of Necessity to solve the constitutional logjam the nation was facing.

“He explained to the group what the doctrine means, and we wholeheartedly accepted it as the only panacea to the problem.

“General Yakubu Gowon then delegated a committee of five persons led by late President Shehu Shagari because he had an international assignment to attend to outside the country.

“The delegation submitted the letter containing the suggestion to the National Assembly and the then Vice President, (Goodluck Jonathan).

“The Senate under the leadership of David Mark, as Senate President acted on the suggestion of the eminent persons group and declared Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Acting President under the Doctrine of Necessity on 9th February, 2010.

“The House of Representatives followed suit by also adopting the Doctrine of Necessity. On 10th February 2010, Dr Goodluck Jonathan was declared acting President. At this time, our dear President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was still in Saudi Arabia receiving medical treatment.

“On 24th February 2010, President Yar’Adua was brought back to the country under the cover of darkness, still very ill, and taken to the Villa, unknown to the Acting President.

“However, while President Yar’Adua was at the Villa “recuperating”, Dr Jonathan continued to act as the President of the country.

“Unfortunately, President Yar’Adua could not make it. He died on 5th May, 2010. On 6th May 2010, Dr Jonathan was sworn in as President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, by constitutional provisions.

“Today, we are again faced with a Constitutional debacle.

“As I stated earlier, this matter is building up tension. It is, therefore, my opinion that Mr. President as leader of his ruling APC political party, may want to amend his earlier terms of settlement since there is no constitutional provision for such quagmire.

“Under Section 5 (2) of the Constitution, the State Governments are autonomous and are not subsidiaries of the central government.

“They are fully in charge of their State. It is only the National Assembly that is empowered to do so under Chapter 1, Part 2, Section 4 Legislative Power.

“It states that the National Assembly shall have the power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Federation or any part thereof concerning any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.

“The power of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the federation concerning any matter included in the Exclusive List shall save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, be to the exclusion of the Houses of Assembly.

“Let me add that beyond any constitutional provision and the leadership of your political party, the APC, it is Your Excellency’s moral obligation as the father of the country to use your good office to intervene and resolve all manners of political crisis around the country.

“The action of the Ondo State House of Assembly by going to court to prevent the National Assembly from interfering in the matters of the State House of Assembly is also escalating the issues.

“Every facet of Ondo State is currently sharply divided; the executive and legislative arms all have people either supporting the Governor or the Deputy Governor.

“Finally, Mr President, I wish to state that we have enough insecurity in the country which has largely stretched our security forces.

“This is why you must urgently and firmly act in the current situation in Ondo State, under a doctrine of necessity,” the letter added.