Doctrine of Necessity was Senate-driven, not NGF initiative — David Mark

 

Former Senate President, David Mark, has rejected claims that the Doctrine of Necessity which paved the way for former President Goodluck Jonathan to assume office as Acting President originated from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Mark insisted that the decision was entirely a legislative action of the Senate, dismissing suggestions that the idea was initiated by the NGF under the leadership of former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki.

He spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the public presentation of a memoir by former Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, titled The Loyalist.

Mark, now National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), stressed that the move to invoke the doctrine was taken solely by senators at the height of the constitutional crisis occasioned by the prolonged illness of then President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

“The Doctrine of Necessity was the sole responsibility of the Senate. It had nothing to do with Kwara State or anyone from Kwara State,” Mark said. “It was a collective decision taken by senators in the national interest.”

Abdullahi, in his autobiography, had claimed that the NGF was the first body to advance the idea, asserting that Saraki personally asked him to draft a statement proposing the doctrine to the National Assembly.

He wrote that his first encounter with the term “Doctrine of Necessity” came after a call from Saraki, who was then chairman of the NGF.

Abdullahi further argued that tensions between Jonathan and Saraki stemmed from the Yar’Adua era, alleging that some within Jonathan’s political circle believed the NGF worked to delay Jonathan’s emergence as Acting President.

However, Mark dismissed the narrative, maintaining that the Senate acted independently and without external influence.

Following weeks of political uncertainty, the Senate on February 10, 2010, invoked the Doctrine of Necessity to swear in Jonathan as Acting President.

Yar’Adua had been absent from the country since November 23, 2009, receiving medical treatment abroad, without transmitting a written declaration to the National Assembly as stipulated under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.

The Senate’s resolution granted Jonathan full presidential powers pending Yar’Adua’s recovery and return, a move widely credited with stabilising the country at the time.