The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has clarified that the doctrine of necessity that empowered Dr Goodluck Jonathan to assume the presidency of Nigeria in acting capacity was purely the decision of the Senate under his leadership and had nothing to do with any influence from some elements in Kwara State.

The Senate had activated what it described as the doctrine of necessity to empower then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act in place of his then erring principal, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who was ill in faraway Saudi Arabia.Speaking at the launch of a book written by ADC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bola Abdullahi titled “The Loyalist”, Senator Mark also urged Nigerians to see the mission to rescue Nigeria as a collective responsibility.He said, “The mission to rescue Nigeria is collective, and I tell you that Bolaji Abdullahi is a straightforward person.

Even when I disagreed with him, his advice was always adopted.

“He is a committed Nigerian, very patriotic. When most Nigerians are interested in personal benefits, he is different and has paid his dues and done his best.”

The doctrine of necessity is the sole responsibility of the Senate and has nothing to do with Kwara State or anyone from Kwara State.

It was the sole responsibility of the Senators of that time.”In his remarks, the national secretary of the ADC, Rauf Aregbesola, said that defections by state governors are not a guarantee that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win the 2027 elections, stressing that it is people, rather than governors, who win elections.Aregbesola, a former Osun State Governor, said, “I still want to say something more.

Something is going on that is worrisome, especially for those of us who are democrats or aspire to be general democrats.””The fact that certain governors are defecting to the APC shows that our unity is weakened, and I laugh because recent statistics in Nigeria, based on the last election, do not support this belief.”I challenge them to commit to a free and fair electoral process, and we will then see if it is true.

“The second point is a scenario in which I want to use results from two zones, just two zones, to show that when a party controls a state, it may not necessarily translate into votes. I want to use the results from the Southwest and Southeast. In the Southwest, the APC controlled all the states except one.

Despite this, the party’s maximum performance in that election was 55 per cent, with the other parties sharing the rest.”The same applied in Lagos, where the APC candidate lost his ward, local government, and state. So please, for goodness’ sake, when it is claimed that governors win elections against the people’s will, I ask where? That is the Southwest.”In the Southeast, the result is even more striking. The APC had only 5.8 per cent of the total vote in that zone. I’ll stop at that.

The results of these two zones clearly show that governors do not win elections; the people do. What we require from the government in charge of the election is a commitment to a free and fair process. So first, commit yourself to a free and fair election, and let us see what the result will be.

That’s what we’re asking.”The book reviewer, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said ‘The Loyalist’ aroused a distinctive curiosity in him, stressing that he believes someone who writes a book as a loyalist is something to ponder over.

“I thought the choice of the title of the autobiography, which brands the writer a loyalist and compensates them with eternity, meant I brought to the book some prejudice, heightened curiosity, and an expectation that he was likely to fall on his face somewhere in the 300-page book. I was wrong.

The title, I think, tempts the reader’s curiosity and suggests that he sees himself justifying himself.”This 10-chapter, 297-page book, titled The Loyalist, is easily one of the most readable and revealing books I have read in a long while. Basically, it’s a study of courage, the kind that cuts both ways.

“This book captures the essence of major elements of our contemporary social and political character. It reminds us of days when publicly funded education was good enough to prepare young Nigerians with what it took to take up positions in society, whether alone or with the full support of powerful people.

“It speaks of days when journalists didn’t need spoken power, when journalists shaped the polity, and when power respected the media.”This book speaks of the genuine value of intellect and character, of the individual’s weaknesses and values when confronted with entrenched traditions and institutions, and of the ephemeral nature of systems and power.

It speaks of the Nigerian power to persuade and compel uniquely young, hard-headed and confident people to take their places in rooms where spaces, entrances and exits are difficult to pry open or break. The Loyalist is a compelling and simple narrative, the type that keeps you awake long after the hours.

“Bolaji Abdullahi is a key, powerful, and very useful member of an experiment that brings together many powerful politicians, many of whom are not here, but it is challenged by bond issues and rivals.

It would be an understatement to say that our country desperately needs a strong opposition, an option that can defeat the growing APC, which has not lived up to the expectations of most Nigerians. Bolaji Abdullahi’s book should be standard reading for historians and analysts interested in contemporary politics in Nigeria.

“The event was attended by the immediate past Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi; former Cross Rivers State Governor Liyel Imoke; presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Mr Peter Obi; former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi; former Kwara State Governor Abdullfatai Abdulrazak; and many others.