Tinubu Directs Akeredolu To Transfer Power By E-Signature To Deputy As Ailing Ondo Governor Is Too Incapacitated To Sign Letter – Report

President Bola Tinubu has directed ailing Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State to transfer power to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

However, the transfer of power will be done by electronic signature (e-signature) as the ailing governor is too weak to sign any document.

Tinubu reportedly told people at the meeting he had summoned to resolve the leadership crisis in Ondo on Monday that Akeredolu was incapacitated and could not sign a letter anymore.

SaharaReporters reported on Sunday that President Tinubu had summoned the state deputy governor, Aiyedatiwa and House of Assembly Speaker, Olamide Oladiji to Aso Villa in Abuja for an urgent meeting slated for Monday.

Sources had told SaharaReporters that Tinubu would ask that the deputy governor should be allowed to act as governor, to resolve the leadership crisis in the state.

Monday’s emergency meeting was the second one summoned by the President to resolve the leadership crisis in the state following the governor’s absence from office since July 2023.

The meeting at the instance of Tinubu was due to mounting pressure from the civil society organisation Take-It-Back, which had threatened to commence mass protests across Ondo State from Saturday, December 16 to demand Akeredolu’s resignation.

The ailing governor has gone AWOL since returning to Nigeria in September from a three-month medical leave in Germany.

Apart from Aiyedatiwa and Oladiji, Akeredolu’s son, Babajide, who was appointed by the governor in November 2021 as the Director General of the Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit, Office of the Governor of Ondo State (PPIMU), was one of those present at the meeting.

The senator representing Ondo South, Jimoh Ibrahim, was also present.

Sources told SaharaReporters that it was first agreed that the State House of Assembly should invoke the doctrine of necessity to make Aiyedatiwa the acting governor, but some of those present pleaded with President Tinubu that it would humiliate the ailing governor.

“During the meeting, it was agreed that the State House of Assembly should invoke the doctrine of necessity and make Lucky Ayedatiwa the Acting Governor, but the Speaker and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim pleaded that the ailing governor would be humiliated,” one of the sources said.

“The son (Babajide) then promised to go and obtain his father’s e-signature to pen a letter to the State House of Assembly, transferring power to the deputy governor.”

Sources at the meeting also disclosed that someone raised concern that since there was already a case of forgery established in handling the affairs of the state, it would not make sense for power to be transferred through such dubious means.

SaharaReporters on Sunday reported that a pro-democracy organisation, Take-It-Back Movement would organise a town hall meeting in Akure on Saturday, December 16 to call for Governor Akeredolu to resume office or resign.

The event will also mark the commencement of street protests to call for the resignation of the ailing governor who has not set foot in his state since July 2023, the report added.

Omoyele Sowore, the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, on Sunday, also called on Governor Akeredolu to return to office and perform his constitutional duty as governor of the state or resign.

Sowore, in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle disclosed that there would be a town hall meeting and beginning of street protests in Akure, the state capital and across the state on December 16, to demand Akeredolu’s resignation.

He wrote: “There will be a Townhall Meeting & a beginning of Street Protests In Akure and across Ondo state on Saturday December 16th 2023!

“All persons of conscience are invited! #GovAkeredoluMustResign #RevolutionNow.”

According to a flyer announcing the event, the town hall meeting organised by the Take-It-Back Movement and themed ‘Akeredolu; Resume Or Resign,’ will be held by noon on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at Akure Town Hall on Oba Adeside Road in Akure.

BACKGROUND

Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), won his re-election as the state governor in October 2020 and was sworn in for a second term in office in February 2021.

However, the governor’s second term, since January 2023, has not been smooth sailing as he had to be flown abroad for treatment over a medical condition.

SaharaReporters exclusively reported in January that Akeredolu was suffering from leukemia.

Leukemia is a blood cancer caused by a rise in the number of white blood cells in the body.

Meanwhile, the family have been keeping his health status hush-hush to maintain their grip on the affairs of the state.

The 67-year-old politician returned to Nigeria in September after a three-month medical leave in Germany but has been holed up in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Meanwhile, Akeredolu has been under intense pressure from opposition parties to resign or hand over power to his deputy in line with the 1999 constitution. But his aides have defended his action or inaction, saying he could govern the state from anywhere.

SaharaReporters on Friday exclusively reported that a forensic report by the Association of Forensic Professionals of Nigeria (AFPON) had confirmed that the ailing governor’s signature was forged on an official document.

Meanwhile, there are indications that there may be more of such forgeries.

SaharaReporters got the forensic report on Friday, signed by Mr Nuhu Kutana Tanko, who stated that “there are strong indications the author of known specimen handwritings/signatures on known documents marked ‘K-K4’ did not write the questioned signatures on questioned documents marked ‘Q-Q2.’”

The investigation was initiated by the State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Razaq Obe, who wrote to the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, confirming the forgery of Akeredolu’s signature on an official document relating to his ministry.

In the commissioner’s letter on Friday titled “Forgery Of Mr. Governor’s Signature On Official Document” and dated December 7, he wrote, “I write to bring to your attention a critical matter that requires immediate action. It has been confirmed that the signature of Mr. Governor on a certain document has been forged.

“The irregularities in the signature were first observed when a file from my ministry was returned through the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG). This is the only file that has been returned so far out of the five files that were sent for Mr. Governor’s approval about two months ago.

“Upon closer inspection, I noticed significant differences between the suspicious signature and handwriting and Mr. Governor’s known signatures and handwriting in the file. Concerned about the gravity of the situation, I decided to seek a forensic review before disclosing my discovery. I sent the suspicious signature, handwriting samples, and copies of the old regular signatures to forensic experts, who have now confirmed that the suspicious signature and handwriting were indeed forged.

“Despite the inherent risks involved, I have chosen to fulfill the obligations of my office by reporting this alarming development to you as the highest-ranking member of the State Executive Council after Mr. GovernorI firmly believe that this is the course of action our esteemed leader, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, would take in such a situation. (SaharaReporters)