By: Festus Ogun, Esq
The suspension of Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and undemocratic.
Granted that President Tinubu has the power to declare a state of emergency under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, we maintain that the President lacks the legal, constitutional or moral right or power to unilaterally suspend a Governor, Deputy Governor or Members of the House of Assembly that were democratically elected by the people. People elected by electorates cannot be arbitrarily suspended by words of mouth under any guise whatsoever. The President has chosen the path of executive lawlessness.
Worse still, he appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state. It begs the question, where does Tinubu derive this power from? What metrics did he use to appoint him? Did Rivers people appoint or elect Ibas? What part of the Constitution empowers Tinubu to appoint an “administrator” to govern the affairs of a State? This is arbitrariness taken too far. All democrats must immediately condemn and reject this travesty.
Today is the darkest day in the history of our democracy. It is saddening that a one time June 12 “activist” has violently raped democracy without recourse to any sort of constitutional protection. It is agonizing that those who fronted as pro-democracy campaigners in the 90s are today throwing the entire country into a delicate constitutional crisis.
This perilous precedent must be quickly averted. Lest, we should all bid our tottering democracy a sorrowful farewell.
Festus Ogun, Esq
Constitutional Lawyer
Lagos
March 18 2025
