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Rivers: Emergency Rule Coup Against Democracy
The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a coup against democratic institutions, human rights activist and lawyer to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has said.
He regretted that sadly, the National Assembly, which should serve as a check on executive overreach, has become the weakest and most compromised legislative body in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Ejiofor in a statement in Abuja said the President’s decision is unconstitutional and an overreach of executive power.
He said, “The ongoing political struggle for control over Rivers State and its vast resources reached a critical and alarming point yesterday with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency. While many Nigerians expressed shock at this drastic move, it comes as no surprise to those of us who have closely followed the unfolding power dynamics. This action appears to be a calculated political manoeuvre designed to appease a powerful political godfather, rather than a genuine response to any constitutional crisis.
“For those well-versed in Nigeria’s constitutional framework, this development was a foreseeable outcome – an undemocratic last resort. A proper interpretation of Section 305 (3)(a-g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) clearly exposes the political motivation behind this decision. Rivers State does not meet any of the stipulated conditions required to justify such an extreme measure.
“The suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, and the entire Rivers State House of Assembly is not only an outright attack on constitutional democracy but also a blatant deviation from the legal provisions governing emergency declarations.
“In simple terms, this is nothing short of a coup against democratic institutions. Sadly, the National Assembly, which should serve as a check on executive overreach, has become the weakest and most compromised legislative body in Nigeria’s democratic history.
“In my previous live broadcast, I emphasized that President Tinubu’s invocation of Section 305 was a fundamental error and an abuse of executive power. The Constitution outlines specific conditions under which a state of emergency may be declared, including:
(a) the Federation is at war;
(b) the Federation is in imminent danger of invasion or involvement in a state of war;
(c) there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;
(d) there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger;
(e) there is an occurrence or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community in the Federation;
(f) there is any other public danger which clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the Federation; or
(g) the President receives a request to do so in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.
“None of these conditions exist in Rivers State. There is no war, no large-scale unrest, and no imminent security threat warranting such drastic action.
“Therefore, the President’s decision is unconstitutional and an overreach of executive power.
“It is now incumbent upon both the Legislature and the Judiciary to act decisively in defence of democracy. The National Assembly must reject this illegal declaration and reassert its constitutional authority. If it fails in its duty, the Judiciary – Nigeria’s last hope for justice – must step in to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the nation’s democratic integrity.
“I commend the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) under the leadership of Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, for its prompt intervention. This is a defining moment for Nigeria’s democracy. We must not allow constitutional violations to stand unchecked. The world is watching, and the credibility of our institutions is on the line.
Let wisdom, justice, and the rule of law prevail.”
The founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, Prof Udenta Udenta, on Thursday, accused the Bola Tinubu Presidency of dismantling democratic values and weaponing the judiciary, and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) against Nigerians.
Prof Udenta, a distinguished fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, said the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State was a distortion of democratic institutions by the Tinubu government.
“The system that should protect democratic governance, you are weaponising them; the judiciary, the apparatus of the state, you are distorting, diluting and transmogrifying them in a way and manner that is shutting down democratic conversations.
“That is what you find as the legacy of the Bola Tinubu president and his political agents,” Prof Udenta said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
The scholar said dismantling democratic principles isn’t by shooting guns but by misusing democratic instruments like the constitution and the judiciary.
“When you abandon the foundational norms of democracy and then you begin to use instruments you acquired in power to dismantle the guardrails that govern the democratic system, then democracy dies.
“It is not by firing a shot that democracy dies or crumbles, it is leveraging the guardrails like the constitution, like what was done in Rivers State, to abort democratic rules,” he said.
The scholar also accused Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) of dismantling the levers of democracy with his suspension of all political appointees in the oil-rich state.
“You find the sole administrator strutting around Port Harcourt, dismantling democratic infrastructure,” he said.
Prof Udenta described what is practised in Rivers State as a “hybrid regime which is a part of competitive authoritarianism” being deployed to “manacle the spirit of a nation and abort democratic institutions at all levels” including labour unions, media houses, political parties, and civil societies.
Prof Udenta regretted that the quality of the lives of Nigerians in the last two years has so depreciated. He lamented that there is widespread hunger and poverty in the land with escalating food inflation usurping the income of average Nigerians.
“There is poverty in the land, there is hunger everywhere, inflation is soaring, criminality and terrorism and all manners of insecurity pervade the nation, and the government is bemused like this current one,” he said.
A bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the office of the Prime Minister as head of government and the office of President as head of state and to provide for a framework for the mode of election to the said offices, has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.
It is among 32 Constitution amendment bills that scaled second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Also among the bills is a bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for specific seats for women in the national assembly and state houses of assembly.
Another is a bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to reduce the lengthy period for determination of pre-election petition matters and provide for the establishment of pre-election tribunals for pre-election matters and regulate the process of suspending a member of the national assembly from legislative duties.
A bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to review the requirements that qualifies persons to be elected as president and vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, governors and deputy governor, passed second reading as well.
A bill for an act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to review the status of the Federal Capital Territory as regards the election of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and bills for the creation of Wan State and Gobir State also passed second reading.
This brings the total number of Constitution Amendment Bills passed so far through second reading to 113.
Actress Regina Daniels has assured her husband, Ned Nwoko, that she will stand by him even if multiple women are linked to him.
The movie star stated this in the comment section of her husband’s touching poem posted on Instagram on Thursday.
Senator Nwoko, in his post, dispelled rumour of marital discord and revealed that they were expecting their third child together.
“Oooh my king! The greatest man in Igbo land! Dike’m! Obim! Ezigbo dim Oma!” Regina commented.
“What did I do to deserve this honour! 10,000 women by your right, 20,000 by your left and I will stand gidigba because what we share will remain the first in history.”
Nwoko’s post followed rumour that he was expecting a child outside wedlock with actress Chika Ike.
The lawmaker addressed the allegation in his post, saying: “No rumoured child outside, That ship never sailed, Let them retire that story, tired and stale.
“Their lies will fade, their voices dim, Yet here we stand unmoved, untrimmed. For love like ours, built on steel, Doesn’t break, doesn’t kneel. Still standing, still thriving, unshaken, supreme.”
He also warned those spreading falsehoods about him, revealing that he has placed a bounty on those propagating defamatory claims.
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