Former Senate President David Mark has refuted assertions about the Doctrine of Necessity’s inception made by former Minister of Youth Development and Sports Bolaji Abdullahi.
Mark insisted that the Senate, not the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), led by former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki, was the one who took the initiative to invoke the Doctrine of Necessity.
He said that the policy was solely a legislative choice, allowing then-Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to take over as Acting President.
Speaking during the public release of Abdullahi’s memoir, The Loyalist, in Abuja on Tuesday, Mark—who is currently the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress—emphasized that no person or organization from Kwara State had any influence over the decision.
In contrast to the popular belief that the Doctrine of Necessity came from the National Assembly, Abdullahi has previously asserted that the NGF, under the leadership of Saraki, was the first organization to promote the concept.
Goodluck Jonathan, the vice president at the time, was sworn in as acting president on February 10 by the Senate using the Doctrine of Necessity after weeks of political unpredictability.
This came after President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had been absent for a long time due to illness since November 23, 2009, without sending a formal declaration as required by Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution. As long as Yar’Adua recovers and returns, the resolution gave Jonathan complete presidential authority.
According to Abdullahi’s 297-page memoirs, he first heard of the “Doctrine of Necessity” when Saraki called him from Abuja and asked him to write a proposal to the National Assembly.
According to Abdullahi’s book, Saraki and Jonathan’s tense relationship has its roots in the Yar’Adua presidency. Saraki was the influential head of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at the time and had a close personal relationship with the president.
Jonathan, on the other hand, was the shadowy vice president who was mostly ignored. Therefore, even though Jonathan was now the second most important citizen in the nation, it was easy for him to feel that Saraki and his fellow governors, who were having fun with Yar’Adua, despised him as that “deputy governor.”
Through whatever methods, Yar’Adua had been aware of his vice’s discomfort with Saraki and had once requested that he see Jonathan in order to make amends. Saraki complied with the president’s request, but in meetings like this, where there aren’t any pressing issues, courtesy usually takes precedence over candor, and everything was usually covered up.
Following Yar’Adua’s death, the Jonathan period commenced. Aside from the lingering hostility, the Jonathan circle believed that Saraki was instrumental in thwarting Jonathan’s formal assumption of office as acting president and assisted Yar’Adua in maintaining his position of authority while he lay dying in a Saudi hospital.
In actuality, though, Saraki’s NGF was the one who put forth the Doctrine of Necessity, which the National Assembly approved in order to formally elevate Jonathan to the position of acting president.
“I first learned about the concept of the “Doctrine of Necessity” when Governor Saraki called from Abuja and asked me to write a statement to present to the National Assembly.”
In response to the allegations, Mark, who was then the Senate’s president, denied that the theory had anything to do with Saraki or Kwara State.
“Rescuing Nigeria is a collective mission,” he declared. He is an honest individual, and even when I didn’t agree with him, I always followed his advise. He is a devoted Nigerian and deeply patriotic. Personal benefits are what most Nigerians are interested in. He did his best and fulfilled his obligations.
The Senate alone is in charge of the Doctrine of Necessity, and neither Kwara State nor any Kwara State residents are involved. The senators at the time had exclusive accountability for it.
