Former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State, calling it a politically-motivated move aimed at intimidating governors who may not support the president’s reelection bid in 2027.
Recall that President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, citing prolonged political crisis and vandalism of oil facilities as key reasons. The decision led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State’s House of Assembly for six months. In their place, Tinubu appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator of the state.
However, the move sparked widespread opposition, with civil society organisations and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) condemning it as unconstitutional.
Also, Amaechi, on an interview with DW Africa on Friday, accused President Tinubu of using the emergency rule as a tool to silence opposition governors and consolidate power.
“It is between the president and the FCT minister. The president wants a power grab. They want to frighten governors who may not support them in 2027. So, there is a rumour everywhere that if you are not careful, the president will remove you,” Amaechi stated.
He further questioned the justification for the emergency rule, arguing that insecurity has plagued other parts of the country without similar measures being enforced.
“If the president said it is because of insecurity, because they blew the pipeline, what about parts of the country where there is insecurity? Is the president saying they should impose emergency rule on him too? They can’t because he is a democratically elected president. Nobody can impose an emergency rule on him because there is serious insecurity in the north-east, north-west — even in south-east and south-west.”
Amaechi stressed that security responsibility lies with the federal government, not state governors, making Fubara’s suspension unjustifiable.
“Rivers governor has no security responsibility; it rests squarely on the president. So why punish a man who did not commit an offence?” he asked.
The former Rivers governor accused Tinubu of violating constitutional provisions on how a governor can be removed from office.
“The president acted outside the Constitution. Section 188 states how a governor can leave office, either by death, resignation, or impeachment. It didn’t say that one day you wake up and a man called the president of Nigeria will throw you out of office, which makes democracy unstable.”
Amaechi called on Rivers residents to resist the imposition of emergency rule and urged them to engage in peaceful democratic protests.
Speaking on the ongoing political feud between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike and Governor Fubara, Amaechi alleged that the conflict was purely financial.
“The fight between the current governor of Rivers State and the FCT minister is about sharing money. If not, what is the quarrel? Nigerians don’t dislike corruption anymore. I’ve not seen anybody on the street querying what the problem is. Can both of them speak to the public and tell us what the problem is?”
Amaechi lamented that Rivers State was now under military rule, denying its citizens the benefits of democracy.
“We are now denied democracy. Rivers State is the only state in the country currently not enjoying democracy. They have imposed military rule on us,” he stated.
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