A group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Ondo Liberation Initiative (OLI) has given Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State a seven-day ultimatum to address the people of the State.

Alternatively, the spokesman of the group, Johnson Alabi said they would be forced to seek an interpretation of Section 193 (2) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as it relates to the transferring of power to the Deputy Governor in the absence of the Governor of a State.

Addressing the media on Thursday, Alabi said the absence of Governor Akeredolu in the State since he resumed from medical vacation harms the social, political, and economic development of the state.

Alabi said the absence of the governor in the state and the Deputy, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa embattled, the state has been shortchanged among the committee of States in the country.

According to him, the absence of the state’s representative in the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting and the just concluded National Police Council meeting held in Abuja showed that the state is lagging among its contemporaries.

”By the provisions of Section 14 of the Nigeria Constitution, sovereignty belongs to the people, and their security and welfare ‘shall’ be the primary purpose of government”.

“It is appalling, disgusting, and unreasonable for anyone to sit on a national television station like that and sufficiently abuse the sensibility of the good people of Ondo State by arguing that we cannot demand good governance for Ondo State as bonafide citizens and electorates when the constitution expressly made it mandatory that our participation in ‘our’ government shall be ensured,” he said.

Alabi said Section 178 (4) of the Constitution, has made Ondo State the constituency of a sitting governor and and not Oyo State, where Governor Akeredolu has been residing since he returned to Nigeria from Germany where he has gone for medical vacation.

“Our Governor must live with us. Those benefitting illegally from the absence of the Governor are those claiming that the governor can rule from anywhere which is against the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“From the foregoing, the Ondo State Liberation Initiative hereby issues a seven-day ultimatum to the Governor to return to Ondo State and speak to the people of the state, or else our group with others shall not hesitate to proceed to seek the Court’s interpretation of Section 193(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on this matter,” he added.

Alabi said section 193 (2) of the 1999 constitution made it mandatory for the governor to hold regular meetings with his Deputy and other members of the State Executive Council. He said there has not been such a meeting in the past six months in the State.

He said, “We view this act of Mr. Governor as gross misconduct for lying to the people of the state that he had resumed office when in fact has not stepped into Akure or any town in Ondo State since then. He wrote to the State House of Assembly on a letter headed paper bearing Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State.

“That is a lie and gross misconduct. The position of the Governor is not privately owned as his handlers think, but a public office with constitutional guidelines.

“Ondo State people deserve to know the health status of Mr. Governor whose medical bills are on the taxpayers of the people living in the state.

“OLI would continue to talk very loudly to reject failures and wrong policies of the government in Ondo State because Ondo State people never voted for a governor that would not have Ondo State as a comfortable place to live. We never voted for a Governor in Diaspora,” he concluded. (New Telegraph)