Former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Lai Olurode; former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran; former member of the House of Representatives, Lanre Agoro, ex-member of Oyo State House of Assembly, Fatai Adesina and a law teacher at the Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. Olu Ojedokun, have called for constitutional solution to end recurrent rifts between governors and deputies in states.
The Fourth Republic has witnessed crises between some governors and their deputies, leading to the impeachment of some deputy governors, such Iyiola Omisore of Osun State, Sunday Onyebuchi of Enugu State, Femi Pedro of Lagos State, Rauf Olaniyan of Oyo State, among others.
Currently, there is no love lost between Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and his Deputy, Lucky Ayedatiwa. The situation is the same in Edo State between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy, Phillip Shuaibu.
Speaking with The Guardian on the trend, the scholars and former parliamentarians suggested various ways the unhealthy situation can be tackled.
In his submission, Prof. Adeniran, a political scientist and former envoy, called for a change in the Constitution. He said: ‘’Change to a People’s Constitution that would make governors responsible chief executive officers of states from their present imperial powers.”
Olurode, who recently retired from the University of Lagos, urged deputy governors to be loyal to their governors 100 per cent and moderate their ambition, saying two drivers could not be in the driver’s seat at the same time.
He added: “The gale of impeachment dangling on deputy governors is a crisis within political parties. It is due to absence of party discipline and over ambition of deputy governors. You must give 100 per cent loyalty to the principal. There cannot be two persons at the steering seat at the same time.
“Look at the way President Bola Tinubu is relating with the Vice President, showing mutual respect to each other.”
“Deputy Governors should not be too ambitious to want to enjoy what the governors are enjoying. There must be equality of members of the party. Our democracy needs to be better than this.’’
Agoro, a former lecturer, stressed the need for tolerance while Ojedokun called for scrapping of the office of deputy governor to put an end to the trend.
The law professor said:”The design of the Constitution makes governors and the President imperial, impeachment is more of a political process than a legal one, and impeachment usually arises out of the insecurities of the principal rather than any guilt for any gross misconduct.
“We may need to consider scrapping the office of deputies so that in the event of vacancies, the head of the Legislature steps in. That may be an innovative solution to a peculiar Nigerian phenomenon.”
On his part, Adesina said: “We need to review the Constitution giving certain role or function to the deputy, making it mandatory that governors hand over to their deputies and have votes and ministries under their portfolio.”
