Morakinyo Ogele, a human rights lawyer, has said that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu is enabled by the Constitution to govern Ondo State from any part of Nigeria, saying it is provided for in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
Addressing journalists, yesterday, at a press conference on the ongoing debates surrounding the governor’s whereabouts, Ogele argued that such concerns should not have arisen, particularly due to the absence of any disruption in the governance of the state.
The legal practitioner claims that the constitution does not state that a governor must reside in the state they were elected to govern. The absence of Akeredolu from the state had generated outcry from various quarters, especially after his return to the country from a medical vacation in Germany about five weeks ago.
The legal expert: “The constitution is very clear about the issue. Now that the governor is around, nobody has accused him of not performing his constitutional role.
“Section 189 of the Constitution is as clear as the summer sky. As of now, no one is complaining that the governor has not been performing.
“The moment he arrived, he signed the LCDAs bill into law, and the salary of workers is going on smoothly. It is one thing not to perform his constitutional roles, it is another thing that he is performing. If he cannot perform as governor, that is where the constitution comes in.
“There are lots of lacunae in our constitution. The constitution has not indicted any governor who is not within his state to perform his constitutional roles. That is why we need to amend our constitution. The constitution has failed to address the question of whether a governor can operate from outside the state. There is nowhere in the constitution that the governor can only operate in Ondo State.
“As far as I’m concerned, Akeredolu has exposed this state to development. When you see all the roads constructed by his administration you will commend him for a job well done. As we speak, construction of the first flyover in the state capital is ongoing. Don’t forget he constructed one in Ore during his first term. This is unprecedented in the state.”
But former representative of Ondo State on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Benson Enikuomehin, says the absence of Akeredolu is causing severe problems to the state.
Enikuomehin, in a closed door meeting with journalists, yesterday, said the absence of Akeredolu has affected many things in the state.He said: “Before he left for his medical treatment abroad, to transfer the power to his deputy governor became an issue but in the long run he later transferred the power and he left.
“While he was away, the deputy was not given a chance to rule and make any decision in the Government House.” He recalled that before the election, the governor himself chose his deputy, whom he trusts can work with and asked: “So why is it a problem now to give him the necessary power to rule while he is battling with his illness.” He lamented that it’s the wife and son of the governor that sign and control the office of the governor, saying it should not be so.
