More reactions have continued to trail the State of Emergency in Rivers State.
The former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, said the action was as an affront to democracy, the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
The Buhari minister of Transport who contested the President’s Tuesday declaration said the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu and the members of the state House of Assembly were reckless.
He therefore called on the National Assembly to reject the presidential declaration.
The former Rivers governor in a statement he personally signed titled ‘My Immediate Reaction To The Undemocratic, Unconstitutional, Suspension Of Elected State Officials In Rivers 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.
“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.
“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.”
