The immediate past Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Sir Charles Titiloye SAN has said there was pressure on the judiciary not to swear in Lucky Aiyedatiwa as governor following the death of his predecessor, Late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN.
Titiloye said there was political pressure on him as the Attorney General and the judiciary to halt the swearing-in of Aiyedatiwa pending the passing of a resolution by a two-thirds majority of the State House of Assembly.
In a statement titled “How I Saved Ondo State From Needless Crisis After Akeredolu’s Death,” Titiloye SAN said, “I was at the Swear in ceremony of New Magistrate of Ondo State Judiciary on the 27th of December, 2023 when I received the message that the Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN has passed on. I was careful in acting on the information without proper confirmation given the several past propaganda alleging the death of my boss.
“It became apparent that at that time, Ondo state was without a Governor, and Hon. Lucky Ayedatiwa, the then Deputy Governor, cannot in Law rely on the instrument of Acting Governor since the donor of the power is no more.
“I briefed the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Hon. Justice Odusola about the development and left the Judiciary ceremony to say some prayers for the repose of the soul of my late boss. My phone started ringing; the political scheming had started again!
“I called the then Deputy Governor, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who informed me that he heard the news too and that he is careful given past experience of such fake news. He said he had not been able to confirm from the family, and as soon as he confirmed, he got back to me.
“Former Gov. Oluwarotimi Akerdolu SAN did certain reforms during his Government to ensure that due processes and strict adherence to the constitution are followed always. One such step was to ensure that all Swear-in ceremonies and inauguration of Public office holders in the state were supervised by the office of the Attorney General of the state.
“Former Gov. Akeredolu SAN told me that I should never be distracted while performing such function, keep to the rule of law, and advise him regularly on procedural steps to take. That is why I supervised all Swear in ceremonies and inauguration of Board members during his tenure.
“On that day, I received so many calls warning me not to proceed with the Swearing-in of the Deputy Governor. One of the callers insisted that the House of Assembly must sit and pass a resolution, supported by a two-thirds majority of members, calling the Chief Judge to swear in the Deputy Governor as the Governor. I was threatened to be careful and not drag myself into the issue of a hot leadership contest in Ondo state. I was asked to officially delay the Swearing-in ceremony for another 24 hours!
“Politics can be funny, but adherence to the rule of law is different from politics; the constitution that I read did not give the House of Assembly any role to play in the Swearing-in of Deputy Governor as Governor of the state whenever the Governor passed away.
“Another official caller said the Commissioner for information has not yet announced the death of the Governor and the Attorney General must not take any step without a formal announcement of the demise of the Governor.
“The then Deputy Governor, Hon. Aiyedatiwa called me to inform me that he has now officially confirmed from the family and the Federal Government on the death of the Governor and I should take all legal steps as the Chief law officer of the state to ensure the constitution is adhered to strictly and there should not be break down of law and order.
“I requested him to stand by for immediate swearing-in as the Governor, and he told me that he was in Igbokoda for the Christmas holiday. I urged him to return to Akure, the state capital immediately.
“I called the Chief Judge to prepare for the Swearing-in ceremony and he told me that he has been contacted and that he can only perform the function after the commissioner for Information confirms the death of the Governor and he receives correspondence from the House of Assembly in respect of its plenary sitting asking him to swear in the Deputy Governor.
“The situation was getting messy and complicated every minute. To avoid further mischief on this matter, I called the Commissioner for Information and she said she has already prepared her press statement and she will release it shortly.
“I was constrained from moving around that day given the sudden disappearance of my Police orderly; I took the security risk and moved to the House of Assembly to see the Hon. Speaker.
“I was joined at the House of Assembly by Hon. (Bar.) Jibayo Adeyeye. The speaker was well disposed to my position on the constitutional impasse, noting that there is no need for the House of Assembly to sit to pass a resolution.
“The Speaker called some principal members of the house, and we agreed that he should prepare a letter to the Chief Judge on behalf of the House of Assembly to the Chief Judge on the need to swear in a Deputy Governor to avert anarchy in the State. I requested the Speaker and Clerk to follow me to the office of Chief Judge with the letter which they obliged me.
“The Chief Judge, having received the correspondence from the House of Assembly and the Hon. Speaker urging him to proceed with the Swearing-in ceremony of the Deputy Governor, gave his consent and prepared for the ceremony.
‘The issue of the oath book came up, and I moved to the cabinet office of the Governor’s office to request the oath book for Swearing in of the Deputy Governor.
“I was told that the Permanent Secretary Cabinet was on leave, and he was the only one who could direct the oath book to be released to me. I called him on the phone immediately and he directed his officers to cooperate with me.
“We prepared the oath book for the Swearing-in ceremony, and I issued a statement for the immediate swearing-in of the Deputy Governor as the Governor to members of the State Executive Council and the General Public.
“I supervised a smooth handover of power to Gov. Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa to ensure our state is in peace and respected in the comity of States in Nigeria. This singular act of peaceful transition was commended nationwide.”
