Along with Peter Obi of the Labour Party and other opposition leaders, Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has urged the National Assembly to reject President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
At a press conference held Thursday at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, Atiku spoke on behalf of the opposition leaders and accused Tinubu of favoritism and illegal use of Section 305 relating the state of emergency.
“We demand that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu immediately revoke this unconstitutional proclamation and restore Rivers State’s elected legislature, governor, and deputy governor,” he said.
According to the former vice president, President Tinubu misused Section 305 concerning the State of Emergency and showed partiality.
He said, “We implore the judiciary to move quickly to overturn this proclamation, as it creates a risky precedent that could be used to remove any Governor at will in the future.”
The political stakeholders characterized Tinubu’s activities as illegal, a flagrant violation of democracy, and an imposition of dictatorial federal power over a state administration that was duly elected, according to Atiku.
“We strongly condemn this development and call on all Nigerians of good conscience to resist this brazen assault on our country’s constitution and that of our democratic institutions,” he added.
“Mr. President’s unlawful and unconstitutional declaration was most likely prompted by the long-running, pernicious political unrest in Rivers State, which resulted in the most recent Supreme Court decision.
Naturally, we expected all parties to the dispute to abide by established protocols and, acting in good faith, to immediately implement the ruling of the nation’s highest court. We observe that despite his opponents’ aggressive rhetoric and offensive remarks, Governor Fubara showed goodwill and seemed willing to carry out the Supreme Court’s decision.
The former vice president made the point that instead of imposing a state of emergency, the president might have asked the National Assembly to intervene under Section 11 of the Constitution if the dysfunction of the Rivers State House of Assembly was the issue.
“This State of Emergency declaration is not about security, it is about power grabbing and control,” asserted Atiku and other opposition political figures. The 27 Assembly members who defected from the PDP to the APC, lost their seats according to constitutional provisions, and then used political maneuvering to undermine the governor’s mandate are the root of the disputes in Rivers State.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately revoke this unconstitutional proclamation and reinstate the elected Governor, Deputy Governor, and State Assembly of Rivers State,” Atiku said as he reviewed the demands of the stakeholders.
“When this unlawful conduct is put to a vote for approval, we urge patriotic Senators and Representatives to vote against it. In order to avoid being exploited to legitimize an unlawful power grab, the National Assembly must stand on the right side of history.
We urge all political parties, civil society organizations, and morally upright Nigerians to defend the democracy we have all worked so hard to establish.
Nigeria is not a dictatorship that needs to replace an elected governor with a military administration, and Rivers State is not a captured territory.
Atiku referred the matter to former Kaduna State Governor El-Rufai when he was asked if it was unlawful for former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with whom he was Deputy, to proclaim a State of Emergency in Plateau and Ekiti.
El-Rufai, the Social Democratic Party chairman, responded by saying that Obasanjo’s proclamation had been overruled by the Supreme Court.
“It is true that the Governors were suspended in those two cases,” he remarked. The Supreme Court of Nigeria rendered a decision in 2006 after these suspensions were contested in court. The court chastised the Obasanjo government notwithstanding the Governors’ reinstatement, declaring that no elected official should ever be removed using the emergency provisions of Section 305.
That’s the law. No law or modification to the constitution has altered the Supreme Court’s decision. An elected official cannot be removed without following the proper procedures of impeachment.
“An elected official can be removed in this manner. Therefore, you cannot interfere with the people’s will. President Tinubu’s actions are blatantly illegal and unconstitutional.
Remember how political unrest has gripped Rivers State for almost two years as former Governor Nyesom Wike and his successor, Siminalayi Fubara, compete for power, resulting in a governance impasse in the oil-rich state.
Consequently, in a countrywide broadcast on Tuesday, the President proclaimed a state of emergency in the state.
He emphasized the importance of maintaining order and imposed a six-month suspension on Fubara, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly.
Ibok-Ette Ibas, a retired vice admiral, was also named administrator of the state.
The Rivers Government House in Port Harcourt was occupied by military soldiers within hours of the announcement.
The state House of Assembly backed the President’s choice, despite Fubara’s worries and pleas for calm.
Other opposition figures at the ongoing press conference include Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, who is represented by Yunusa Tanko; Babachir Lawal, the former secretary to the government of the Federation; Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State; Peter Ahmeh, the national secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties; and Segun Showunmi, the convenor of the Alternative.
Former governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), and Abdullahi Adamu, the All Progressives Congress’s immediate past national chairman, are among those who have issued apologies.
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