Port Harcourt, Rivers – The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said that the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers state by President Bola Tinubu cannot last more than two days if the National Assembly is in session and ten days if they are not.
This was disclosed in a statement by the NBA president Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN) on Tuesday night, March 18, suggesting that Governor Fubara has the chance of returning to power earlier than the six months President Tinubu announced in his broadcast.
NBA opposed Tinubu on Rivers
The NBA opposed the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers state. The association condemned the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, his deputy and the lawmakers in the state House of Assembly.
According to the NBA, the president did not have the constitutional power to singlehandedly depose elective officials under the guise of a state of emergency.
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, March 18, made a bold decision on the political crisis rocking Rivers. He declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state, and the parties involved refused to find lasting peace between camps.
The two political titans in the state, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the immediate past governor of Rivers and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, have been at loggerheads barely six months after the former resumed the mantle of leadership.
NBA did not mention Supreme Court judgment
While the NBA did not mention the Supreme Court judgment cited by President Tinubu, it noted that the decision of the president was unconstitutional.
Osigwe pointed out that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, outlined the procedures for a state of emergency declaration. This law then granted the president to give emergency power but it did not empower the president to remove or suspend any elected officials. The NBA then explained that the only constitutional means of removing the governor or his deputy was through impeachment which was stated in section 188.
It further explained that lawmakers’ removal must comply with electoral laws and constitutional provisions. The NBA then clarified that a state of emergency did not mean an automatic dissolution of government and an attempt to do that is an abuse of executive power.
See the full statement of the NBA here:
State of Emergency: Tinubu mentions Fubara’s Sins
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu finally suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and the Rivers state House of Assembly following the political crisis rocking the state.
In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday night, March 18, Tinubu pointed out three times the suspended governor abused the rule of law.
The president also recalled that he had made efforts to ensure a lasting peace but the parties involved have refused to comply.
