Former Vice President and 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar leads a coalition of political leaders in a press conference today at 10:00 AM at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. The conference will focus on President Bola Tinubu’s recent declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State.
Atiku’s special adviser on broadcast media, Abdul Rasheed Shehu, announced this on his X handle. The move comes in response to President Tinubu’s national broadcast on Tuesday evening, during which he suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months. Tinubu also appointed retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd.), as the sole Administrator of the State.
This decision has ignited widespread controversy, with legal experts and political analysts questioning its constitutionality. They argue that the Nigerian Constitution does not grant the president the authority to remove an elected governor through an emergency declaration. For the proclamation to be legally valid, it must be ratified by the National Assembly. However, both the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to address the matter during their sessions on Wednesday.
Today, a two-thirds majority approval from both chambers is required for Tinubu’s decision to take effect. The press conference led by Atiku and other political leaders is addressed the issue, warms the National Assembly not to comply with the irregularities and further reviewed the implications of obliging to such verbal declaration of the Governor on the democracy and governance in Nigeria.
