Veteran statesman Chief Edwin Clark has penned an open letter appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invoke emergency authority amid the brewing political crisis in Ondo State. With the governing institutions in conflict and the ailing Governor overseas, Clark argues that a swift national intervention is imperative under a "doctrine of necessity."
The current tensions trace back to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu's extended medical absence in Ibadan. Despite Tinubu brokering an interim compromise, subsequent disputes over executive authority and alleged forgery of the Governor's directives have threatened a constitutional showdown.
Seeking to avoid further escalation, Clark reminds Tinubu of the seminal 2010 precedent, when the National Assembly empowered the then-Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as acting head of state while President Umaru Yar'Adua received treatment. The urgent action followed proposals from an eminent persons group assembled by ex-Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon.
As both President and leader of the APC, Tinubu is implored to again invoke emergency measures for unity and stability. With courts and legislators exercising competing claims, an impartial roadmap endorsed by rival factions can define lawful governance until Akeredolu returns or the people select new leaders.
The welfare of citizens must remain the foremost priority. Therefore in these testing times, leaders must set aside pride and politics to forge an honorable way forward with open and earnest dialog. Anything less risks eroding cherished gains towards justice, harmony and national progress.
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