Rivers Crisis: Atiku, El-Rufai, others form coalition against Tinubu

A coalition of some political leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called on the National Assembly to vote against President Bola Tinubu’s suspension of elected officials in Rivers State.

The coalition also urged the judiciary to swiftly strike down Mr Tinubu’s pronouncement, noting that it sets a dangerous precedent that could be used to arbitrarily remove any governor in the future.

It also called on all Nigerians, civil society organisations and political groups to reject the move.

Addressing a press conference on behalf of the coalition on Thursday,, Atiku described Mr Tinubu’s actions as illegal and a violation of the country’s constitution.

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The coalition accused Mr Tinubu of failing to follow due process and misusing Section 305 of the 1999 constitution to declare a state of emergency.

Flanked by Mr El-Rufai,the spokesperson of the Labour Party, Yunusa Tanko, and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, Atiku said Mr Tinubu failed to meet the criteria for the declaration of a state of emergency.

“Section 305 of the Constitution allows the President to declare a State of Emergency only in extreme cases where public safety, national security, or Nigeria’s sovereignty is at serious risk. However, it does not grant him the power to suspend elected officials or to demolish democratic structures as he has brazenly done,” he said.

“This action is not only unlawful but also a clear subversion of democracy and imposition of autocratic federal control over a duly elected state government. 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.”

“Even if an emergency declaration were valid (which it is not), it would still require a two-thirds majority approval of all members of the National Assembly-that is, at least, 72 Senators and 240 members of the House of Representatives. If this approval is not secured, the proclamation must automatically cease to have effect.”

Background

Mr Tinubu had on Tuesday declared a state of emergency on Rivers State and suspended elected officials including the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu and all elected lawmakers of the state House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.

Mr Tinubu also appointed Ibok-Étè Ibas, a retired vice admiral and former chief of naval staff, as the administrator of the state for the next six months.

The president cited as the basis for his action “the disturbing” violence in the state, including explosions and vandalisation of petroleum pipelines linked to the political crises in the state.