Rivers: Emergency Rule Declaration, A Dangerous Precedent — NNPP

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Wednesday condemned the declaration of the state of emergency on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu as an absurdity and a very dangerous precedent.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ladipo Johnson in a statement on Wednesday also declared that the action of the president was unconstitutional.

Johnson said the Rivers political crisis had clearly not degenerated to the level warranting a state of emergency, adding that except for the inherent political interest in the state, a more reasonable solution could have been applied rather than emergency rule.

“Of course, the presidential fiat invoking Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution is arbitrary in the circumstances, to say the least, particularly on the conditions precedent and implications for democracy and development of the country.

“It is clearly a dangerous precedence which can only be interpreted as an absurd political manipulation on the part of the Federal Government.

“Why the rush to proclaim a State of Emergency without the conditions precedent as required by law? “Doesn’t the president’s action vitiate the rule of law he talked about in his speech?

“Hasn’t he, by this rash action shown us that he does not fully understand the long term implications and have the requisite skills required to rule a complex country like Nigeria? Or is it about his party’s much touted political interest in Rivers State ahead 2027?” the opposition party queried.

Johnson added that, “These are questions germane to this unfortunate decision which of course sends frightening signals both locally and internationally regarding the rule of law and overall state of things in our union.”

He maintained that President Tinubu was ill-advised to take the decision, saying that he should have acted as a father for the parties involved in the Rivers State quagmire instead of being seen as one-sided and vindictive.

“Yes, this rational deduction could be gleaned even from the sequence of his speech which gives away Emergency Rule proclamation as a political orchestration towards a political end.

“This sort of action was what the NNPP had warned Nigerians and the people of Kano against, which it saw being orchestrated by some evil forces during the Emirate crisis. But for the maturity of the Governor and the good people of Kano State who avoided being “tricked” into taking their resistance onto the streets, the same scenario might have played out with an unjustifiable declaration of a state of emergency on Kano State.

“The NNPP, however, reckoned with the implication of the declaration of the State of Emergency for the economy, warning that it was a decision capable of triggering restlessness in the Niger Delta with disastrous effects on the national economy.

“Now the challenge is how to deal with a possible implosion in the Niger Delta over this matter. Are we seeing signs of this as per the incidents in the State in the last few days and how this could affect oil production as the nation’s economic mainstay?”

The party called on Nigerians to be vigilant to any measures or actions by the government and the individuals that could jeopardise the nation’s democracy which, it said was hard-earned and must be protected against impunity and ill-advised decisions and policies.