My 21-day ultimatum to take over is constitutional, Ondo Deputy Governor insists

Says mishief-makers twisted his stance

Ondo State Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi has said that his 21-day ultimatum claim to take over from Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu as acting governor is backed by the Nigerian Constitution.

Media Adviser to the Deputy Governor, Mr. Allen Sowore, in a statement made available to journalists in Akure yesterday, said the request was constitutional and not personal.

Sowore, however, accused a section of the media and some mischief-makers of deliberately twisting the import and intentions of the 21-day ultimatum.

“I made reference to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria in relation to the conditions which can trigger the constitutional clause on automatic transfer of power to a deputy governor when the governor is temporarily incapacitated in relation to the prevailing circumstances in Ondo State.

“The statement has since gained national traction. However, my reference to the provision of the Constitution has been deliberately taken out of context to the effect that some national newspaper headlines twisted the statement to mean that Ondo State Deputy Governor, Alfred Agboola Ajayi, demanded that Arakunrin Akeredolu should hand over government to him within 21 days,” he said.

According to him, his reference was to an extant constitutional provision on a purely constitutional matter, stressing that the deputy governor was not desperate to get power.

“I daresay that it is the sacred duty of the media to inform the public about the correct position of law on all issues of national importance without fear or favour. Citing the provision of the Constitution does not, as in the instance case, mean the invocation of that mention or the issuance of an ultimatum.

“The drafters of the constitution, relying on our country’s recent experience, have inserted relevant provisions in it to safeguard our democracy from the rule of men and their selfish interests,” the statement partly read.