The Obidient Movement strongly condemns President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State and the consequent removal of the duly elected governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu in a blatant constitutional illegality, where legal options and processes were not exhausted.
While Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the President to declare a state of emergency in the federation or any part thereof, the Constitution is explicit about the procedures governing such an action. Nowhere in our laws is the President granted the authority to unilaterally remove an elected state governor. Numerous judicial pronouncements affirm this position.
According to the 1999 Constitution, a governor may only vacate office under the following circumstances:
Impeachment by at least two-thirds majority of the State House of Assembly;
Death;
Resignation.
Given these constitutional provisions, we urge the National Assembly to exercise it’s powers under Section 305(2) of the Constitution to revoke this unlawful state of emergency. The Nigerian Parliament has a duty to protect our democracy from anti-democratic forces by ensuring this unconstitutional act is reversed.
It is regrettable that President Tinubu a perceived former pro-democracy and human rights activist, who strongly criticised and condemned the state of emergency by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, has become a champion of what he once decried and derided.
Finally, the Obidient Movement calls on President Bola Tinubu to reflect deeply—away from the political pressures surrounding Rivers State—and reconsider this decision. The President must recognise that such an unconstitutional move threatens the very fabric of our democracy.
Nana Kazaure
Director, Communications Directorate,
Obidient Movement
