BREAKING: El-Rufai Sends Message To Tinubu Over Suspension of Fubara, State of Emergency in Rivers
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has called on President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his decision to suspend Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and impose a state of emergency in the oil-rich state.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, March 20, El-Rufai argued that the move was unconstitutional and dangerous for Nigeria’s democratic federalism.
El-Rufai tackles Tinubu over suspension of Fubara
According to El-Rufai, the Nigerian Constitution does not grant the President the power to suspend elected officials at the state level.
He warned that such an action sets a dangerous precedent for the country’s democracy.
“There are things that are so clearly wrong that the justifications summoned in their defence fall flat. The decision of Mr. President to suspend the elected officials of the Rivers State Government is one of those.
“Our country’s Constitution does not support it precisely because it is dangerous to our system of democratic federalism for an elected president to assume and exercise powers to suspend elected officials at the state level,” he said.
El-Rufai emphasized that while security concerns in Rivers State should be addressed with urgency, suspending democratic structures was an unnecessary overreach.
El-Rufai proffers alternative measures to address security concerns
The former governor acknowledged the importance of tackling security threats but insisted that the situation in Rivers should have been handled differently.
“The security issues cited in the President’s speech surely deserve the most serious attention and sustained efforts to contain the threats and preserve vital national infrastructure.
“A state of emergency could surely have been proclaimed to grant the relevant security agencies the extraordinary powers and necessary resources to enable them to address the problem,” he said.
He argued that emergency measures should not include dismantling democratic structures, describing such actions as a violation of democratic principles and the rule of law.
Calls for reconsideration
El-Rufai urged President Tinubu to reverse the decision and uphold the constitutional rights of Rivers State’s elected leaders.
He recalled that as an opposition figure, Tinubu had previously opposed a state of emergency declared by former President Goodluck Jonathan in the North-East, even though it did not involve suspending elected officials.
“It is my view that Mr. President should review this decision and return to the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law,” he said.
El-Rufai warns Tinubu against repeating history
El-Rufai further cautioned against allowing history to repeat itself, referencing the events of 1962 when emergency rule was imposed in the Western Region, leading to significant political unrest.
“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.”
He called on all patriots and advocates of democracy to speak out against what he described as a “gross violation of the Constitution and disrespect for the rule of law.”
With tensions already high in Rivers State, El-Rufai’s intervention adds to the growing calls for President Tinubu to rethink his decision and find a more constitutionally sound approach to resolving the crisis.
Tinubu meets new Rivers’ administrator after suspending Fubara
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that President Tinubu met with the newly appointed sole administrator of Rivers state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), at the presidential villa in Abuja on Wednesday, March 19.
