Details of Tinubu meeting with Ondo Deputy Governor emerge

In order to end the state’s five-month-long crisis, President Tinubu and senior leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have decided to apply the concept of necessity and name struggling Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as acting governor.

The decision was made on Friday in the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a meeting that was held behind closed doors. President Tinubu attended the meeting together with members of Akeredolu’s cabinet and representatives from the House of Assembly of Ondo State.

After a lengthy medical break, Governor Akeredolu returned to Germany in September. Since then, he has hardly appeared in public, preferring to recover at his Ibadan home. Political tension and uncertainty have increased as a result of his protracted absence, necessitating a swift conclusion.

With the doctrine of necessity invoked, the Ondo State House of Assembly is expected to reconvene on Monday to formalise Aiyedatiwa’s appointment as acting governor, granting him full executive powers to steer the state forward.

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The doctrine of necessity, a legal principle that allows for extraordinary measures to maintain order and uphold constitutional principles, has been previously employed in Nigeria’s political landscape. In 2010, it was invoked to resolve a similar crisis arising from the prolonged absence of then-President Umar Yar’Adua, paving the way for Goodluck Jonathan to assume the role of acting president.

President Tinubu’s intervention was driven by concerns over the escalating political tension in Ondo State, exacerbated by Akeredolu’s absence and the power struggles between cabinet members and lawmakers.

The meeting at the Presidential Villa brought together key figures, including national chairman of the APC Abdullahi Ganduje, Deputy Governor Aiyedatiwa, Ondo State Secretary to the Government Oladuni Odu, former APC national chairman Bisi Akande, Finance Commissioner Wale Akinrinwa, House Speaker Olamide Oladiji, APC state chairman Ade Adetimehin, and members of the National Assembly from Ondo State.

Notably, the governor’s wife, Betty Akeredolu, and son, Babajide, were reportedly denied entry to the meeting room during the critical decision-making process.