Former Senate President, David Mark, has dismissed claims by a former Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, that the Doctrine of Necessity originated from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) under the leadership of former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki.
Mark maintained that the historic decision to invoke the Doctrine of Necessity was solely initiated and executed by the Senate, stressing that it was a legislative intervention taken in the national interest and not influenced by the NGF or any individual from Kwara State.
He spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the public unveiling of Abdullahi’s memoir, The Loyalist, where he countered assertions made in the book regarding the role of the governors’ forum in the process that led to the elevation of then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President.
According to Mark, who currently serves as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the doctrine was a collective decision of senators at the time, aimed at rescuing the country from a constitutional crisis.
“The Doctrine of Necessity is the sole responsibility of the Senate and has nothing to do with Kwara State or anyone from Kwara State. It was the sole responsibility of the Senators of that time,” Mark said.
He added that the decision was taken independently by the legislature to stabilise the nation during a period of prolonged political uncertainty.
Abdullahi, in his 297-page autobiography, had claimed that the NGF, led by Saraki, was the first body to propose the Doctrine of Necessity. He disclosed that his first encounter with the term was when Saraki allegedly contacted him from Abuja and asked him to draft a statement proposing the idea to the National Assembly.
In the book, Abdullahi argued that Saraki’s NGF advanced the doctrine, which was later adopted by the National Assembly to pave the way for Jonathan’s formal assumption of office as Acting President. He also detailed the strained relationship between Jonathan and Saraki during the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s illness and eventual death.
The Senate, on February 10, 2010, invoked the Doctrine of Necessity to swear in Jonathan as Acting President following weeks of uncertainty caused by Yar’Adua’s prolonged absence from office due to ill health. Yar’Adua had been away since November 23, 2009, without transmitting a written declaration to the National Assembly as required under Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
The resolution granted Jonathan full presidential powers pending Yar’Adua’s recovery and return, a move widely credited with averting a constitutional and political crisis.
Reacting further to Abdullahi’s claims, Mark emphasised that the intervention was driven by patriotism and collective responsibility rather than personal or regional interests.
“Mission to rescue Nigeria is collective. Most Nigerians are interested in personal benefits, but this was not about that. It was about saving the country,” he said.
Mark insisted that the Senate alone bore responsibility for the doctrine, reaffirming that no external body or individual influenced the lawmakers’ decision at the time.
