AKEREDOLU: CLARK WRITES TINUBU, SAYS 'DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY WILL END ONDO CRISIS '.(PHOTO).

Akeredolu: Clark writes Tinubu, says ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ll end Ondo crisis’

Ijaw National Leader and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the Doctrine of Necessity be adopted to end the current political logjam in Ondo State.

A political crisis has been bedeviling Ondo State following Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s failure to resume duty after his medical trip abroad, and the plot to impeach Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

But as the crisis deepened as Akeredolu stayed back in Ibadan, Oyo State, President Tinubu had summoned all stakeholders at the centre of the crisis to Abuja, for peace talks. However, peace has yet to return to the state.

Clark, in his letter titled, ‘Urgent need to resolve the Ondo State impasse’, addressed to Tinubu and made available to newsmen in Abuja, said the President should pave the way for Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to take over in acting capacity, while Akeredolu continues to tackle his health challenges.

Clark’s letter partly reads, “The on-going impasse in Ondo State can be likened to what happened when our dear late President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was very ill, and did not transmit a letter to the National Assembly in accordance with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, to enable the then Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to act as president.

“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.

“Let me add that beyond any constitutional provision and your leadership of your political party, the APC, it is Your Excellency’s moral obligation as 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.”