Opposition Leaders in the country have vehemently kicked against the declaration of State of emergency in Rivers state by President Bola Tinubu.
TheHintsNews reports that Tinubu had on Tuesday suspended Governor Siminilayi Fubara and the members of the state House of Assembly.
However, prominent opposition leaders including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, former National Vice Chairman North-West of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal described the action as a brazen assault on democracy.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the opposition leaders on Thursday in Abuja, Atiku called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately reverse the declaration of State of emergency in Rivers state.
He said the action was not only unlawful but also a clear subversion of democracy and imposition of autocratic federal control over a duly elected state government.
The former vice president said the illegal and unconstitutional proclamation was presumably driven by the protracted insidious political crisis in Rivers State, which culminated in the recent ruling of the Supreme Court.
Atiku noted that the opposition leaders expected all parties to the dispute to follow laid-down procedures, and in good faith, to promptly implement the judgment of the highest court of the land.
He stated: “We strongly condemn this development and call on all Nigerians of good conscience to resist this brazen assault on the constitution of our country and the institutions of our democracy.”
“We note that despite provocative statements and belligerent attitude of his opponents, Governor Fubara had demonstrated goodwill and appeared disposed to the implementation of the ruling of the Supreme Court.
To this end, they opposition leaders therefore demanded immediate reversal of the state of emergency declared in Rivers.
Atiku stated: “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.
“We call on patriotic Senators and Representatives to vote against this illegal action when it comes before them for approval. The National Assembly must stand on the right side of history and not allow itself to be used to legitimise an unconstitutional power grab.”
Also speaking, El-Rufai, what Tinubu has done was “violently unconstitutional and unlawful.”
When reminded that the Obasanjo administration which Atiku and El-Rufai were part of also removed the governors of Plateau and Ekiti states, El-Rufai said: “It is true that in those cases, the governors were suspended. These suspensions were challenged in the court and in 2006, the Supreme court of Nigeria gave a judgment clearly stating that…even though, by then, they have been restored to office, that under no circumstances
“That the emergency provisions, Section 305 might be used, that is the law. The Supreme Court has spoken, no legislation or constitutional amendment has changed that.
“No person, no authority can remove an elected official, whether governor, deputy governor, or member of the legislature, without going through the due process of law.
“In the case of the Governor by impeachment, in the case of legislators, through recall. Those are the only ways you can remove an elected person. You cannot, you cannot tamper with the mandate of under Section 305 of the constitution. The Supreme Court has spoken and it is very clear.
“Our hope is that the National Assembly will, for once, that the National Assembly that everyone accuses of being a rubber stamp will at least, for once, stand with the people of Nigeria.”
