Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he is wrong in suspending Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu.
In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending all elected officials for six months.
El-Rufai released a statement on Wednesday night, saying the Nigerian Constitution does not allow the president to suspend governors. “The decision of Mr. President to suspend the elected officials of the Rivers State Government is one of those clearly wrong actions,” he said.
He argued that the president’s act undermines democratic federalism and that “It is dangerous for an elected president to assume and exercise powers to suspend elected officials at the state level,” El-Rufai added.
He suggested that Tinubu could have declared a state of emergency to give security agencies the resources and powers needed to address insecurity in Rivers State without dismantling the democratic structures in violation of the rule of law.
El-Rufai cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dariye vs. Attorney General of the Federation case, which declared the suspension of elected officials unlawful.
Call for Constitutional Compliance
El-Rufai urged Tinubu to revere his decision and follow constitutional principles. He reminded Nigerians that Tinubu had opposed similar actions by former President Goodluck Jonathan during the North-East emergency declaration.
“It is my view that Mr. President should review this decision and return to the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law. As an opposition figure, Senator Bola Tinubu had made his voice heard against the decision of then President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of emergency in the North-East, even when that decision did not extend to the suspension of elected officials and institutions. A similar reconsideration is warranted in this case to contain the damage done to the people of Rivers State and restore the Federal Government to compliance with the Constitution.
“Let us not keep silent while the slippery slope of replicating the events of emergency rule in the old Western Region in 1962 unfolds before our very eyes. I appeal to all patriots and voices of reason to join in calling an end to this gross violation of the Constitution and disrespect for the rule of law,” he concluded.
El-Rufai had recently ported to a little-known opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP). Until then, he had been an ally of the president and fellow founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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