Ondo House of Assembly members are a disgrace for accepting nonsense from ailing Governor Akeredolu –Sowore

Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore has described members of the Ondo State House of Assembly as a disgrace to the state, Nigeria and law-making

Sowore, who is the Convener of #RevolutionNow, stated this while featuring live on an Arise News programme on Tuesday.

The activist accused the lawmakers of abdicating their constitutional responsibility in the face of a leadership crisis in the state occasioned by the failure of ailing Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to resign and hand over power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

Sowore said Akeredolu had abdicated his role as the governor of the Ondo State a long time ago, regretting the “terrible governance” in the state.

Through his spokesman, Akeredolu earlier on Tuesday said he would proceed on another medical leave on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, as a follow-up to his treatment for leukaemia.

A statement signed by Richard Olatunde, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor on Tuesday said that during his medical leave, Akeredolu will prioritise his health and ensure a full recovery before resuming his official duties.

The statement added that a formal letter regarding the medical leave and a notice formally transferring power in line with the Nigerian Constitution will be transmitted to the House of Assembly.

Regarding the news, Sowore said, "First is that the governor of Ondo State never returned from his first medical leave even though letters were transmitted to the state that he had returned about four months ago. He never set foot in Ondo State; that is to say or it is reasonable to say that he has abdicated his role as the governor of the state a long time ago.

"And governance is not a joke, you just can't wake up one day and say that well ‘I don't want to go to work; I am a ghost worker, and I am on leave’. He never went back to the office and you go back on another leave. You know this is just a really horrible story we are hearing from our beloved state and where it then becomes very difficult is that I heard you now saying that he is going to transmit another letter to Ondo State so that his deputy can act in his capacity as a governor.

"The question you should ask is where are they going to get the signature to write the letter to the Ondo State House of Assembly? And as I speak with you, just a few seconds before I got into the studio, I was told that the Ondo State House of Assembly had been meeting all day long, waiting for his son to provide the letter that was supposed to be transmitted to the House of Assembly allowing his deputy to start as acting governor and they can't even find the son.”

"So this is how terrible governance has become in this country and in particular in our state,” he said, adding that the state “is bigger than several West African countries in population”.

He continued, “I am very ashamed that I should say this, that I am ashamed that those young people - I don't know if they are old in the Ondo State House of Assembly who are waiting for his son to bring another forged letter to them, saying that he is going on leave when he has not resumed from the first medical leave.

"So this is something that is unacceptable, something that is ridiculous and I don't know why anybody would accept this, especially considering that we have been through this before at the highest levels of government. Don't forget that there was a president in this country - Umaru Yar'Adua who was brain dead for five months and he was ruling this country by proxy until the people rose and said enough is enough.

"And today, we are repeating the same thing in Ondo State and interestingly Akeredolu was the chairman or president of the Nigerian Bar Association at that time. He said clearly that what Yar’Adua was doing was not only illegal but immoral and he asked him to resign at that time and now that it is his turn, he wants to go to his grave with Ondo State governorship, which is impossible.”

Sowore lambasted the State House of Assembly members for not doing anything to resolve the leadership crisis in the state.

According to him, nobody should accept the situation in the state regarding the crisis that spilt from Akeredolu’s refusal to resign despite his ill health and lack of capacity to govern.

He said, "I don't know why anybody will accept this and Ondo State for that matter. You know, this is the same Ondo State that people always brag about that they will not accept nonsense, now nonsense has become the governor of Ondo State; this is completely unacceptable.

“And my position is not determined by the fact that I am from the state, I will do the same for another state in the country or the country itself because we have done this before for Nigeria and resolved the issue of that time with the doctrine of necessity and eventually the vice president became the acting president and eventually the president of the country.

"So I want to just make that clear that this is unacceptable and it should not be acceptable to anybody and I am pointing my fingers at those people in Ondo State House of Assembly that they are a disgrace, a disgrace to the state, Nigeria and law-making."