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President Bola Tinubu, by declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State, may have saved Governor Siminalayi Fubara from being impeached, a senior official has said.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from reporters at the State House, Abuja.
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The state of emergency
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the South-southern state on Tuesday.
The president suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all the House of Assembly members for an initial six months.
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He cited “the disturbing incidents” in the state in the last 24 hours, including explosions and vandalisation of petroleum pipelines linked to the political crises in the state, as the basis for his action.
Many Nigerians and groups, including the NBA and PDP Governors Forum, have separately criticised Mr Tinubu for suspending the elected governor and lawmakers in violation of the Nigerian Constitution.
‘How declaration saved Fubara’
Before Mr Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, the state assembly had served a notice of alleged misconduct against Mr Fubara and his deputy Mrs Odu.
Mr Fagbemi, while speaking with reporters, said the emergency rule ordered by Mr Tinubu may have favoured Mr Fubara.
“It appears so (that Mr Tinubu saved Mr Fubara from impeachment),” the attorney-general said when a reporter asked him the question.
“Don’t forget, I think yesterday (Tuesday), there was a notice of impeachment from the House of Assembly. If that impeachment had been allowed to take its full course, then the governor would have lost wholly and entirely.”
The senior lawyer said the state of emergency declared by the president could be seen as a compromise decision for both Mr Fubara and his political opponents led by FCT minister Nyesom Wike.
He said, “So, in a way, if you say it’s a compromise, I will agree that instead of allowing the impeachment process to continue, and which in the end, would have seen both the governor and the deputy governor out of office and would have been out for the entirety of the four-year term with the remainder of what it we have.
“We are one year, I think about nine months now, leaving a balance of two years and three months. So, if normalcy returns, Fubara may come in. But for now, it could be a compromise. I will agree.”
‘Decision not hasty, but tough’
Mr Fagbemi dismissed insinuations that Mr Tinubu’s was hasty considering that there was no violence in the state that prompted the declaration.
The attorney-general argued that the president acted “timeously” because the law envisaged intervention in the event of imminent danger.
“People were killing themselves. It’s no longer news. It’s not a question of making up the story. We all read papers every day. Those who live there are living in fear. So, there is undoubtedly the need to come in,” he argued.
Mr Fagbemi stressed that Mr Tinubu was forced to make the declaration after he unsuccessfully made efforts to solve the impasse.
“I am certain that the President has acted timeously after giving them enough rope, and as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, it was a tough decision for him to make.
“It doesn’t present anybody with joy, to disrupt the flow of democracy or practice of it,” he added.
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