Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has denounced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as unconstitutional and illegal.
News Central reports that President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday March 18, citing political instability.
Following the declaration, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were suspended for six months.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, March 20, alongside a coalition of opposition parties, El-Rufai insisted that the president’s actions in Rivers State violate the law.
“What President Tinubu has done is violently unconstitutional and unlawful,” he stated.
Referring to past cases under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, El-Rufai highlighted that the Supreme Court had ruled in 2006 that emergency powers under Section 305 of the Constitution cannot be used to remove elected officials. He emphasised that governors can only be removed through impeachment, while legislators can only be recalled.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the two cases referred to occurred during the Obasanjo administration in which both his excellency, the former vice president, and my humble self were a part of. And it is true that in those cases, the governors were suspended.
“These suspensions were challenged in the courts, and in 2006 the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a judgment clearly stating that… under no circumstances would the emergency provisions in section 305 be used to remove any elected official.
“That is the law. The Supreme Court has spoken. No legislation or constitutional amendment has changed that.
“So that is the law. No one, no person or authority can remove an elected official, whether governor, deputy governor, or member of the legislature, without going through the due process of law. In the case of governor, through by impeachment.
“In the case of legislators, through recall. Those are the only ways you can remove an elected person. You cannot tamper with the mandate of the people under section 305 of the constitution. The Supreme Court has spoken,” he said.
El-Rufai urged the National Assembly to reject the measure, calling on lawmakers to uphold democratic principles and resist what he described as an unconstitutional power grab.
“Our hope is that the National Assembly will for once today, this National Assembly, that everyone accuses of being robust, will at least for once stand with the people of Nigeria,” he stated.
