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Tinubu erred by removing Fubara, dep – Lawyers
Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa and Abeny Mohammed on Tuesday faulted the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The SANs described the declaration of emergency state as well as the removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Following the political crisis in Rivers State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspended Fubara, Odu and members of the state House of Assembly for a period of six months.
In a nationwide broadcast, the president nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state.
Rivers State has been embroiled in a crisis since last year when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and the governor fell out with each other.
The situation led to the alleged defection of 27 members of the state assembly loyal to Wike. The lawmakers subsequently lost their seats but were later reinstated by the Supreme Court.
Before declaring the state of emergency, Tinubu had, earlier yesterday, met with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas as well as National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, service chiefs and heads of other security agencies at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
But a ranking senator said yesterday that the president meeting the leadership of the national assembly was not enough as there was the need for the input of other members
“Why the rush? Why putting a retired soldier to take over? It is wrong to encourage military incursion in politics in whatever guise.
What the president did amounts to error of judgement and it will escalate tension in the Niger Delta. It is illegal,” he said.
Lawyers speak
Adegboruwa (SAN) called on the president to rescind his decision to remove the elected government officials in Rivers State and allow democratic process to be applied in dealing with issues.
“The action of Mr President is premeditated and showed that he is biased,” Adegboruwa alleged.
“I don’t support the actions of the governor or the FCT minister, but the declaration has upended the democratic will of the people of Rivers State.“ The action of the president is unwarranted, undemocratic and uncalled for.”
Adegboruwa also questioned why Osun and Benue states, with issues of local government dispute and Lagos State where two speakers of the state assembly emerged in one day had not been met with a state of emergency.
Similarly, Abeny Mohammed said the action taken by the president was extreme and unconstitutional.
He stated: “The Rivers State governor was elected into office by the people in accordance with the constitution and can only be removed in accordance with the constitution.”
However, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), said the matter was beyond legal analysis as the crisis in Rivers State was an “upshot of a political crisis.”
It’s political manipulation – Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday described the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State as political manipulation.
He accused the president of being a partisan actor in the crisis, saying “Anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers.
“His blatant refusal — or calculated negligence — in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful,” Atiku said.
The presidential candidate of the PDP in the last election in a post on his verified Facebook page said, “Beyond the political scheming in Rivers, the brazen security breaches that led to the condemnable destruction of national infrastructure in the state land squarely on the president’s desk.
“Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent.
“It is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability — undoing the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’adua.
Years of progress have been recklessly erased in pursuit of selfish political calculations.
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the president bears full responsibility.
Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”
Why I declared state of emergency in Rivers – Tinubu
In his broadcast, the president said he was disturbed at the turn of events in the political crisis in the state.
He said, “With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years can thrive in a way that will benefit the good people of the state.
“The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
”The president added, “Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now not disowned them.
“Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
“Latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them.
I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.”
The president said based on the situation, he was invoking the provisions of Section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) “to declare a state of emergency on the state and that it takes effect from Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
“By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months,” he said.
News
BREAKING: Tinubu Swears-in Ibas as Rivers Sole Administrator ▪︎It’s a truncation of democracy in Rivers- Amaechi
The suspension of two key democratically elected arms of Government in Rivers State by Mr. President evidently violates our Constitution, even within the scope and interpretation of Section 305 that the President cited in his broadcast.
Politicians across divides should speak up; rise to halt our nation’s descent into totalitarianism. State Governors and Legislators should speak up now.
President Bola Tinubu has sworn-in the sole administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (RTD.), into office for the next six months.
Rt. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a former Governor of the state, said : “Unequivocally, I condemn the rather brazen and unilaterally reckless suspension and removal of the Governor of Rivers State, the Deputy Governor of Rivers State and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” Tinubu swore Ibas into office at about 03:00 pm at the State House, Abuja.
The brief ceremony was witnessed by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila., the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and presidential Spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.
On Tuesday, Tinubu in a national broadcast declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months. Ibas served as Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Rotimi Amaechi, who was governor of oil-rich Rivers State, from 2007 to 2015 and earlier, as speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007, pointed out that with this singular move, Mr President has technically suspended and truncated democracy in Rivers State.
He said :” This clearly violates our Constitution, the same Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Mr. President swore to uphold.Section 188 of the Nigeria Constitution, clearly stipulates how a State Governor can be removed from office. And it does not include a fiat declaration, decree or promulgation by Mr. President.
Therefore, he cannot appropriate such powers to himself.A democratically elected State Governor cannot be removed from office by a proclamation of Mr. President.
The suspension of two key democratically elected arms of Government in Rivers State by Mr. President evidently violates our Constitution, even within the scope and interpretation of Section 305 that the President cited in his broadcast.
The unlawful suspension of elected democratic institutions in my dear Rivers State points to a brazen attempt at power grab in the State by forces and persons who do not have such Constitutional powers.
The unfolding events in Rivers State in the past months, points to a clear orchestrated plot by some persons to unconstitutionally perpetrate and impose themselves on the people.
At this inauspicious moment in our nation’s trajectory, all people of goodwill and conscience should rise to oppose this audacious violation of our Constitution and rape of our democracy.
Mr President must be made to know and understand in unmistakable terms that this illegality cannot stand.
Politicians across divides should speak up; rise to halt our nation’s descent into totalitarianism. State Governors and Legislators should speak up now.
I urge the National Assembly to reject this illegality. As a former State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum(NGF),
I am not unaware of the role elected Governors in the country can play to halt this descent and reverse the unlawful actions of Mr. President.
I commend the Governors that have spoken against the unlawful suspension. The suspension is a very dangerous affront on Nigeria’s Constitution and democracy.
Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Amaechi described the move as “undemocratic, unconstitutional, and a brazen violation of Nigeria’s Constitution.
”He called on the National Assembly, state governors, and stakeholders to reject what he termed an “illegal power grab.
”Amaechi argued that President Tinubu had overstepped his constitutional authority by suspending elected state officials.
Citing Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, he emphasized that a governor can only be removed through a clearly defined impeachment process, not by presidential decree.
“With this singular move, Mr. President has technically suspended and truncated democracy in Rivers State.
This clearly violates our Constitution, the same Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Mr. President swore to uphold,” Amaechi stated.
He further questioned Tinubu’s use of Section 305, which allows the President to declare a state of emergency, arguing that it does not grant him the power to “dissolve elected arms of government.
”The former Rivers governor accused certain forces of orchestrating a political takeover in the state.
He urged governors, lawmakers, and Nigerians across political divides to resist what he described as an “audacious violation of democracy.”
“At this inauspicious moment in our nation’s trajectory, all people of goodwill and conscience should rise to oppose this audacious violation of our Constitution and rape of our democracy.
Mr. President must be made to know and understand in unmistakable terms that this illegality cannot stand,” he declared.
Amaechi, who previously served as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), commended governors who had spoken out against the suspension.
He urged others to join in rejecting the move and preventing “Nigeria’s descent into totalitarianism.
”The statement comes amid mixed reactions to Tinubu’s emergency rule declaration in Rivers State.
While some argue it was necessary to restore stability, others, like Amaechi, view it as a dangerous precedent that threatens democratic governance.
News
Fubara vacates govt house for Administrator Ibas
Fubara reportedly left the seat of power on Wednesday morning…
The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has vacated the Government House in Port Harcourt along with his family and security details.
Fubara reportedly left the seat of power on Wednesday morning, according to a close source who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak on the issue.
Security at the Government House remains sparse, although the two Armoured Personnel Carriers seen on Tuesday night in front of the premises are still stationed there with a handful of security operatives.
Meanwhile, preparations are being made to receive the Administrator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to oversee the state for the next six months, Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd).
BREAKING: Tinubu Swears-in Ibas as Rivers Sole Administrator ▪︎It’s a truncation of democracy in Rivers- Amaechi
Suspension of Fubara, others: This illegality cannot stand, Amaechi tells Tinubu
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