- Controversy persists as governor rules Ondo from outside
BY TIMOTHY AGBOR
The ailing governor of Ondo State who is also the chairman of the South West Governors’ Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, on Tuesday, met with governors from the region at his private residence in Ibadan to discuss issues of interest.
According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Richard Olatunde, the governors present at the meeting were Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State.
Olatunde said governor Akeredolu, who appreciated the governors for their solidarity, harped on continuous collaboration among the South West states.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said the Forum was praying for Governor Akeredolu, adding that he had the support of all the governors in the region.
Olatunde added that the governors discussed national and other issues affecting the region and the people.
However, a mild drama ensued in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Tuesday, as a protest planned by a group, aegis Ondo Liberation Initiative, on the continued absence of governor Akeredolu from the state, was prevented from holding by over 200 commercial motorcycle operators.
The venue of the protest/ press conference, which was the state Council of the NUJ, was invaded by commercial motorcycle operators as early as 8am.
The motorcyclists took over the venue and prevented the members of the group that had early paid for the hall.
For hours, both group members laid claim to the use of the venue.
Spokesperson for the group, Alabi Johnson, who later addressed the group members at the entrance of the NUJ secretariat, expressed concern about the state of health of the governor.
Johnson said that the group perceived that the governor “has been caged by either his immediate family or his aides who are his handlers and prevented him from accessing quality health care abroad because of reasons best known to them.
“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians to shout out loud, intervene and rescue him from this perceived captivity. Aketi shouldn’t be allowed to die the way he’s being caged.
“The concept we are here to showcase today is “Jara e gba” which translates to “Rescue yourself”. It is now evidently clear that every citizen of this state needs to rescue him/herself from poverty, impoverishment, economic hardship and political hardship.
“As a matter of fact today we wish to canvas for the rescue of our governor from the handlers who have deliberately caged him so as to remain in one position for their selfish interest at the expense of his ill health. (Aketi Jara e gba!)
“We all know that when anyone is sick as our governor is now, he/she remains at the mercy of whoever is managing his/her health. As it is now, we perceive that our governor is very ill and at the mercy of these handlers.
“Nobody has access to him. Nobody has seen him in any public place since his claimed resumption of office. This is why our concept of Jare e gba becomes necessary in Ondo.
“Ondo government needs to be rescued; the people need to be rescued by embracing government policies that can eradicate poverty. Aketi needs to be rescued and taken out for better medical care. The governor is no longer a private person but a public officer.
“We want to use this medium to call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H. E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to intervene in rescuing Aketi and take him abroad for good medical care.”
They commended the party’s leadership for their timely intervention and restoration of peace in the state.
Johnson also lauded the embattled deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, “for his maturity, humility and perseverance in handling the Impeachment saga.
“We urge him to ensure the reconciliation and the political solution opted for is successful.
“We recognise the office of the Speaker of the Ondo House of Assembly and urge that the reconciliation process is given due priority.
Meanwhile, Aiyedatiwa has denied endorsing any planned protest against the governor’s continued absence from the state.
Aiyedatiwa in a statement he personally signed in Akure, disowned the protesters.
Aiyedatiwa said that “My attention has been drawn to some false publications in which it was alleged that a group loyal to me is planning to hold a protest against the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
“This is to inform the good and peace-loving people of Ondo State that I am not aware of any such protest and no group or association has my endorsement to carry out public demonstration of any kind.
“I affirm my commitment to the ongoing reconciliation efforts of the National leadership of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the political situation in our state which are already yielding the much-needed tranquility in the state.
“Therefore, I enjoin the security operatives in the state to continue to maintain peace and ensure that the good people of Ondo State go about their daily activities without any disturbance.
The deputy governor has also asked the state Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to ignore the request of the Assembly to constitute a seven-man panel of investigators to probe allegations of gross misconduct against him.
Aiyedatiwa, in a seven-page letter by his lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, was forwarded to the state Chief Judge on Tuesday.
Recall that the Assembly on Monday wrote a letter to the Chief Judge on October 23, 2023, asking him to constitute a seven-man panel to probe the deputy governor, claiming that the orders of injunction granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja, had expired.
But, Aiyedatiwa, through his lawyer, punctured the position of the Assembly, which he said was based on conjectures, misconceptions, inconsistencies, undue desperation and misconstruction of the law.
The deputy governor argued that the orders granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja on September 26, 2023, were still in force and remained valid and subsisting, contrary to the conclusion of the Assembly that the said orders had expired by operation of law.
Dwelling on Order 26 Rule 10 (2) and (3) of the Federal High Court Rules 2019, the deputy governor argued that the court in Abuja has been given wide discretion to determine the nature, status and duration of any order granted and “in this case, the Court directed that the Orders granted on 26th September 2023 should last till the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction, which is still pending before the Court.”
He stated in his letter that based on the two proceedings of the Federal High Court, Abuja of October 9 and 16, 2023, the court has not set aside the pending orders and the order cannot be extinguished by the application to set it aside since it was combined with the hearing of the substantive suit.
The deputy governor drew the attention of the Chief Judge to the inconsistent action of the Assembly which on one hand is claiming that the orders have expired whilst, on the other hand, it is pursuing an appeal against the said orders.
The deputy governor referred the Chief Judge to the Motion on Notice filed by the Assembly at the Court of Appeal, Abuja on October 20, 2023 where it stated that the orders granted by the Federal High Court were still valid and subsisting because they were tied to the hearing and determination of the deputy governor’s motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
Aiyedatiwa then queried whether the Assembly can approbate and reprobate at the same time by stating under oath in court that the orders are still valid and pending while at the same time writing a letter to the Chief Judge claiming that the orders have expired.
He argued that “Contrary to this misconception of law and the facts, the same House of Assembly filed a Motion on Notice dated 20th October 2023, before the Court of Appeal, Abuja in respect of the same orders of the Federal High Court, praying for abridgement of time to hear its appeal against the said orders.
“If it is true that the orders expired by operation of law on 18th October 2023 as being falsely canvassed, why would the same House of Assembly file a fresh application two days later, in pursuit of its desire to set aside the said orders that it claimed have expired? While the Assembly is pursuing its appeal to set aside the orders in Court, it is deviously asking My Lord to set aside the same orders in Chambers, purportedly by operation of law.
“In Ground 4 of the said Motion on Notice dated 20th October 2023 filed the House of Assembly and pending before the Court of Appeal in Abuja and paragraph 9 of the affidavit of Elizabeth Omiwole in support thereof, it is stated on oath as follows:
“GROUND 4: The lower Court has not heard the Originating Summons till date and has in fact adjourned the case till 30th October 2023 whilst the INTERIM INJUNCTIONS ARE TIED TO THE HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT’S INTERLOCUTORY APPLICATION WHICH HAS ALSO NOT BEEN TAKEN OR ARGUED TILL DATE.”
In Paragraph 9, he said, “I know as a fact that the lower Court has not heard the 1st Respondent’s Originating Summons till date. In fact, the Court has again adjourned the case till 30th October 2023 whilst the INTERIM INJUNCTIONS ARE TIED TO THE HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE INTERLOCUTORY APPLICATION WHICH HAS ALSO NOT BEEN ARGUED OR HEARD TILL DATE.”
The deputy governor reminded the Chief Judge of his principled position as stated in his letter to the Assembly on October 3, 2023 that all parties should await the hearing of the cases in court, stating that nothing has changed to warrant a departure from the stand of the Chief Judge.
Aiyedatiwa referred to other cases pending before the Akure High Court on the same subject matter of impeachment, urging the Chief Judge as the head of the judiciary not to allow the Assembly to ridicule the courts and their authority.
The deputy governor also quoted from the Supreme Court decision in the case of the Deputy Governor of Taraba State (Danladi v. Dangari) where in a similar fashion, lawmakers rushed to impeach him whilst his case was pending in Court, whereupon the Supreme Court quashed the impeachment and ordered his reinstatement.