Ever since the fight for power and control commenced in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his immediate predecessor and current Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, it was obvious the two groups were going for broke. While Fubara may have lulled himself to proclaim, as he did last May, that the ‘Jungle has matured’ enough for him to take the fight to his godfather, he didn’t reckon with the deployment of federal might. On Tuesday, he learnt his lesson the hard way when President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency that ousted him from office by appointing an administrator for Rivers State. Unfortunately, we have been down this dangerous route before, and it is always a slippery slope.

Although the crisis in Rivers State started immediately Wike left office, it took five months to blow open in October 2023, when some lawmakers loyal to him initiated impeachment proceedings against Fubara. “All of us want to be politically relevant; all of us want to maintain our political structure,” Wike said in response to allegations that he was behind the surreptitious attempt to oust the governor. “Will you allow anybody to just cut you out immediately? Everybody has a base. If you take my base, am I not politically irrelevant?” 

Like the position taken by President Donald Trump on the war between Russia and Ukraine, President Tinubu took sides with Wike while urging Fubara to compromise for peace to reign in his state. What followed was the bombing of a section of the House of Assembly complex by forces loyal to the governor who then relocated the legislative arm to the Government House, Port Harcourt. And with 27 members ostracised, Fubara began to govern with four lawmakers domiciled within his office—making nonsense of the separation of powers doctrine on which the presidential system is anchored and without which there can be no transparency and accountability in governance.

Meanwhile, it is interesting that Tinubu is doing the same things he attacked his predecessors for before he became president. When in 2013, Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three states, Tinubu said the country was “witnessing a dangerous trend in the art of governance and a deliberate ploy to subvert constitutional democracy.” In a statement he personally signed, Tinubu called on “those who love this country genuinely (to) advise the federal government not to tinker with the mandates of these Governors under any guise. It is a potentially destructive path to take.” He added: “Any measures put in place which alienate the people, in particular their elected representatives, should be considered as fundamentally defective by every right-thinking person in the country.”

Jonathan did not even remove the governors, yet Tinubu wrote a damning statement ‘in defence of democracy’. But the hypocrisy is understandable. Handlers of every sitting president have always seen declaration of emergency as a political tool that could deploy against opponents. On 3rd June 2014, for instance, the late Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, accused then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, of ‘misadvising’ President Goodluck Jonathan, in a 16-page letter he (Clark) still decided to read to the media. After citing the examples of President Olusegun Obasanjo who used ‘emergency powers’ to suspend Dariye (Plateau State) on 18th May 2004 and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti State) on 19th October 2006, Clark wondered why Jonathan was being prevented by Adoke to apply the same principle to oust Governors Kashim Shettima (Borno), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe). “The President needs to suspend the affected states’ political structures because the roles of these governors have revealed them as conspirators who are hiding under the guise of opposition to display their politics of bitterness, hatred, ethnicity and religion to disparage him and scuttle Jonathan’s constitutional right to seek a second term as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution,” Clark wrote.

I believed at the time, and still do so today, that Adoke sided with the law and Jonathan acted correctly on the issue. I therefore consider the action taken by President Tinubu on the crisis in Rivers State as self-serving, and to use his own words, “setting in motion a chain of events the end of which nobody can predict.” But before I conclude, let me take also a few excerpts from my June 2014 column:

=========================================================

When in May 2004, President Obasanjo suspended from office Governor Dariye and members of the House of Assembly while appointing a Sole Administrator for Plateau State, the consensus of most prominent lawyers at the time was that he acted beyond his powers. From Chief FRA Williams to Professors Ben Nwabueze and Itse Sagay, the argument was that there is nothing in the Constitution that so empowers the president to take the actions he did. In fact, rather uncharacteristically, the late Williams issued a legal position which he circulated to the media. Titled ‘Illegality and Unconstitutionality of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Declaration of Emergency and Suspension of the Governor and Parliament of Plateau State’ and dated 22 May 2004, ‘Timi The Law’ (as he was fondly called) wrote: “There is no provision contained in any part of our Constitution which confers such a power on the President. It is a contradiction of all known principles of true federation operating in a democratic society. The Governor is elected by the people of the state. So are the members of the House of Assembly. It was a recognition of these facts that informed the provisions inserted in our Constitution relating to the exercise of emergency powers…”

However, having spent several hours at the United States Information Service (USIS) in Lagos, scouring through documents and papers, I wrote a two-part column that I gathered earned me the sobriquet of ‘good boy’ at the villa at a period I was very critical of the Obasanjo presidency. Since the usual refrain in the country at that time was “this cannot happen in America”, I had relied on a 1989 document of the Library of Congress titled ‘Powers of the Presidency’ to suggest that such assumption was not entirely correct. Of course, it didn’t matter at the time that my intervention was more an academic exercise on the powers of the presidency than an endorsement of what Obasanjo did.

According to the Congressional paper, “this argument that presidents have the authority to violate the Constitution, to ensure the security of the nation, has been used by wartime presidents to justify extraordinary exercises of power. When it is evident that conditions of national peril exist, Congress and the American public have turned to the president for leadership. Under such conditions, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt stretched, reinterpreted, and in some cases, brazenly violated the Constitution in the name of national security. Their claim to an inherent executive power to safeguard the nation was accepted because the American people generally agreed with their assessment of the gravity of the emergency at hand. Presidential claims of an inherent executive power during a doubtful national emergency, however, will likely fail the test of public and judicial scrutiny…”

The crux of my position was that while a US President might not have removed elected public officials as Obasanjo did, some had also performed no less unconstitutional acts. For that reason, I argued that Obasanjo may have exercised powers beyond what the Constitution specified to curtail a situation that could lead to a breakdown of law and order in Plateau States at the time. I, however, went further to state that in the United States, the National Emergency Act of 1976 (PL94-412) terminated all states of emergency that were in effect until that time while also setting in place procedures for declaring and, more important from the view of many in Congress, terminating future states of emergency.

In the case of Nigeria, the ‘Emergency Powers Act 1961’ which Obasanjo sought to ‘modify’ was no longer in use which meant there was already a legal vacuum for the action he took on Plateau State. To that extent, I asked the National Assembly to look beyond the person of Dariye, ethnic affiliations and the religions members professed, to the larger implications for the future of our democracy. The question I asked them to address was, should the president have the power to suspend Governors and House of Assembly members and if yes, what political structure should be in place in the intervening period of interregnum and for how long…

ENDNOTE:

I wrote the foregoing in 2014 as a rehash of my earlier column published 21 years ago. While President Obasanjo got away with two ‘emergencies’ that ousted governors from office, President Jonathan chose not to travel that route in a commendable act of statesmanship. But the same Tinubu who waxed lyrical about the illegality of such action in the past has suspended the governor and legislature in a state after what is no more than a contrived crisis. The real danger, as we are now seeing in the United States where the powers of the president are being stretched, is that this may be the beginning of testing the limits of many of the assumptions that undergird our democracy in pursuit of self-interest.

In endorsing the suspension of Dariye in my 20 May 2004 column, ‘The President and His Powers’, I took account of the way he mismanaged the ethno-religious killings in his state, and for speaking the ‘we-versus-them’ language of war at a time the people needed peace. But despite my position on Dariye, I nonetheless raised a few pertinent questions that are still relevant today: Can this declaration not become an avenue for mischief makers in some states to put their governors under the siege of violence and then expect the president to wield the big stick? Under a system that is becoming increasingly intolerant of opposing views, are we not susceptible to constitutional dictatorship? Will a successful execution of this emergency order not embolden the president to go the ‘extra mile’ in other extra-constitutional matters, even concerning his term of office? Are we not unwittingly encouraging the creation of an Alberto Fujimori (who as an elected president dissolved the Peruvian Congress and Supreme Court, effectively becoming a dictator)? Have all the available options been explored before this emergency rule? Is it only a ‘military administrator’ that can instil order in a supposedly democratic government?

Like the mother of the dead child in the Biblical story of King Solomon’s judgment, the Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker, Martin Ameawhule, who led Wike’s ground forces against Fubara, has endorsed the presidential proclamation. But my main concern is about the future of our democracy. Considering how the president ‘resolved’ the Lagos State House of Assembly crisis in a manner that saw the return of an impeached Speaker, we should all be afraid of breeding an imperial presidency. With the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru calling on the president to apply the same formular in Osun State against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Ademola Adeleke, there may be no end to this ‘Kabiyesi Syndrome’. Especially with a National Assembly whose leadership would only ask the president ‘how many times?’ the moment he asks them to jump!

Clearly, there is a travesty of democratic norms in the hasty declaration of an emergency in Rivers State. But the effect of this haste can only be remedied through the invocation of the power of dialogue as a democratic tool. Such dialogue must be across the partisan aisle. In addition, it remains within the powers of the president to whittle down the influence of those whose political interests may be behind the aggravation of the crisis in Rivers State. Besides, the brand of gunboat politics that necessitated the emergency in the first place must be discouraged. The people of Rivers state deserve better than a show of imperial presidential display and supremacist partisanship.

Emeka Ihedioha at 60
Former Imo State Governor, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha will be 60 on 24th March. That is this coming Monday. Two events are planned for the occasion. First, a colloquium chaired by former President Obasanjo with the theme, ‘Is Democracy failing in Africa?’ at which Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah will deliver the keynote speech. There will also be a dinner to round it up. I first met Emeka in Abuja in 1992 when he worked in media management under the tutelage of former PUNCH editor, Mr Chris Mammah. I was then a State House Correspondent for African Concord magazine. And we became so close that when he was chasing Ebere (now his wife of 28 years), we were always going to her house together.

Interestingly, apart from his three-year at the Villa as a Senior Special Assistant to then Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his seven-month stint in Imo State, Ihedioha has spent most of his working life with the legislature. During the defunct Third Republic, Emeka was Press Officer to then Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu and later, Chief Press Secretary to then Deputy Senate President, Chief Albert Legogie. Under the current dispensation, Emeka was also Special Assistant (Media) to the late Dr Chuba Okadigbo (as Senate President) in the 4th Senate. Then in 2003, he contested and was elected to the House of Representatives. During his 12 years in the House, Emeka was at various times, Chief Whip and Deputy Speaker and he made considerable impacts in these positions. Emeka and I started as friends, now we are family. I wish him a most wonderful birthday filled with joy and laughter.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) unequivocally condemn Mr. President’s hasty and unconstitutional declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State. This action blatantly violates the provisions of Part II, Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and constitutes an overreach of executive power.

The purported suspension or removal of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and the State House of Assembly is not only unlawful but a direct assault on democracy. 

It sets a dangerous precedent, eroding constitutional governance and threatening the autonomy of subnational governments. 

No democratic society can thrive where elected leaders are arbitrarily removed at the whims of the President. This reckless move should deeply concern every reasonable governor and citizen who believes in the rule of law.

We, therefore, call on Mr. President to revoke this unconstitutional declaration in compliance with Section 305(6) of the Constitution, which clearly outlines the legal process for declaring and sustaining a state of emergency.

The President, as the custodian of the nation’s executive powers, must exercise restraint, respect constitutional limits, and act in a manner that inspires national confidence rather than suspicion. 

Any decision that jeopardizes national security, economic stability, and democratic governance must be reconsidered.

 Nigeria has suffered the painful consequences of political overreach in the past, and we cannot afford to repeat such mistakes.

Beyond the political and legal implications, this unjustified state of emergency will have severe socio-economic repercussions on workers and the masses. It will:

 Disrupt economic activities, forcing businesses to shut down or scale back operations;

Lead to job losses, wage cuts, and economic hardship for thousands of workers in both the formal and informal sectors;

Create an atmosphere of uncertainty, discouraging investment and slowing economic growth in Rivers State and beyond;

Expose citizens to security risks, as history has shown that politically motivated states of emergency often escalate rather than resolve crises.

Accordingly, the Labour movement will not remain silent while the livelihoods of workers and the well-being of ordinary Nigerians are threatened by political machinations.

Given his storied background in political struggle, we urge Mr. President not to betray his democratic credentials by engaging in actions reminiscent of military-era authoritarianism.

 Leadership demands wisdom, restraint, and an unwavering commitment to democratic principles.

We demand the immediate reversal of this unconstitutional state of emergency in the interest of democracy, economic stability, and the welfare of Nigerian workers. Nigeria’s democracy must not be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.

Comrade Joe Ajaero 

President, NLC.

 Engineer Festus Osifo

President, TUC.

News of the transition of Malam Kabir Dangogo hit me like a thunderbolt. Kabir was the man God used to throw me a lifeline when I was unceremoniously shown the door at the PUNCH newspapers on Christmas eve in 1998. My only baby at the time was just one year old and I had less than N500.00 (Five Hundred Naira) in my bank account. And that was because, like Yemi Olowolabi, Chief Press Secretary to the then Ondo State Gov. Olusegun Agagu, told me years after, I was a “Thank you” editor and not a “Ghana-Must-Go” editor! What Yemi meant was that all I savoured from the favours I dispenseed during my tenure as editor was the “thank you” people said to me! Of course, he was correct! Did I, then, regret the unsavoury turn of events when they came? I did not! God - and Kabir - did not let me!

Kabir told me to put forward a proposal for the consultancy job of printing Union Bank’s newsletter - The Stallion. He came down from his highbrow Ikoyi residence to my Ogba popular side with his entire family, bringing with him gifts that my family treasured for many, many years. My wife cooked, we all ate, and felt at home together. You would think we were members of the same family. For years, I handled the editing, production, and printing of Union Bank magazines and newsletters and lived comfortably on the proceeds. Kabir fought tooth-and-nail to keep the job for me, and the moment he left, I lost it!

Kabir retired over irreconcilable differences between him and the management (G.A.T Oboh was GMD at the time) over the policy of making everyone a banker. A consummate Public Relations professional, Kabir never wanted to be anything else. When he retired, he relocated from Lagos to Abuja, then Kaduna, and later to his home state of Katsina, living close to the perimetres of the Government House. We regularly rubbed minds on the country’s volatile security situation. At a point we lost touch and when we got back talking again, I was sad to hear that he had suffered a stroke; but the cherry news was that he was recovering very well.

The last time we spoke, he needed help for his son who was seeking employment with the NDLEA. After that, his lines went dead again. The next news was that of his demise, which I find too sad to describe; the same feelings I had when Mr. Kayode Awosanya of Mobil Producing Limited was killed by armed robbers/assassins during those giddy days of the June 12, 1993 crisis when the PUNCH newspapers were closed and proscribed again and again. During one of those closures, many staff members were taken off the payroll. For reasons I could not fathom, I was one of those affected. So, each day I stayed indoors devouring books, until one day when Moses Ebong, our Head of Cartoons, came with an artist’s impression of myself that he said Mobil Producing said he should deliver to me. In addition, he said Mr. Awosanya asked that I see him without delay. I went the next day and that was how this “Thank you” editor was handed the consultancy job of editing, producing, and printing Mobil Producing’s newsletter; which I did for many years! Sweet repose, continue to grant the soul of Mr. Kayode Awosanya, O Lord!      

While I was still ruminating on how to pen a tribute to Kabir, I stumbled on one written by Akaninyene Esiere and chose to adopt it because it captured the very essence of who Kabir was. Excerpts:  

“When he first proposed the idea of forming the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), he ensured that I was included as a founding member. Mallam would not have thrived as a politician because he always called a spade a spade and never sugarcoated issues… Our paths crossed in the mid-1990s when I was a business reporter at Theweek magazine. He was the Principal Manager and Head of the Public Relations Department at Union Bank. I was one of the reporters whose business and finance articles he enjoyed reading. Dangogo came over to Union Bank from the Bank of the North, headquartered in Kano, where he was the Assistant General Manager in the same PR Department…

“Not long after he joined the bank, he became aware that the majority of the personnel in the department were not professional public relations practitioners. Apart from Gabriel Edem and Femi Akinmoladun, who was based in Abuja, others had backgrounds in different fields, including core banking. Dayo Sobowale, who had spent many years in the department, had been transferred to head the Ibadan Area Office before Dangogo assumed office. If you knew Kabir Dangogo a little, you would know that he was a thoroughbred public relations professional and wasn’t going to be able to speak the same language with those who were not familiar with the profession!

“Dangogo then obtained the approval of his bosses to recruit professionals into the department. I happened to be one of those people whose curriculum vitae he asked for. I cannot remember how many of us wrote the employment examination but I was surprised I was subsequently invited for interview… I knew I didn’t do well in the exams because the bank got the West African Examination Council to set it. And WAEC being WAEC decided to punish me for failing mathematics in my WAEC and brought so much mathematics again into this exam… I failed the exam but I still got the job. After I got the job, which I started on December 1, 1998, I asked Mallam Kabir Dangogo if I passed the exam. He told me I did not but that he asked the Human Resources Department to still invite me to the interview, believing that I would do well.

“I got the job because Kabir Dangogo believed in me and gave me a chance. In this same Nigeria where ethnicity and religion are the pillars and ladders of progress in life, a Fulani (was he Hausa?) Muslim from Katsina State saw competence in a person from a different religion, ethnicity, and state. Let me even shock you: three people were eventually recruited into the department through that exercise: Francis Barde, Cecile Agwu, and yours truly. That was Kabir Dangogo for you!

“To say that Kabir was a highly detribalized Nigerian is an understatement. Because he was a stickler for excellence, he was always looking for where to get the best quality service from. Most of the professionals or companies who rendered services to the department were not from the north. Here are some: Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi (of the Daily Times fame); Bola Bolawole (previously with The PUNCH); SO&U; Engr. Nsikak Essien; Dawn Functions; May Nzeribe, Taiwo Ola, to mention but a few. And most of his mentees were from the southern states; some of whom have written tributes in honour of their mentor.

“Kabir was a very well organized and meticulous person. He was principled; yes, annoyingly principled. He would hate to cut corners; to see people do so or behave anyhow. He had strong opinions about many things and how people and organizations behaved. He was not a tongue-in-cheek public relations expert and would call a spade by its name without thinking how you would feel. For him, being politically correct was politically incorrect. His dressings were top-notch; his office very inviting. His meals were special: he lectured us on why it was unhealthy to drink water while eating; he was a stickler for timeliness and very impatient with the notion of “African time”. He lived in an ideal state! All of this made Francis Barde to nickname him “Bature”, the Hausa word for an Englishman.

“Kabir Dangogo was a consummate and thoroughbred professional known across the length and breadth of the African continent as far as public relations was concerned… The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) was his brainchild; and he was its founding President. He brought life to the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). He was regular at its monthly meetings and ensured that those of us in the department attended meetings on rota. He was the General Secretary of the Federation of African Public Relations Association (FAPRA).

“Kabir liked to holiday in London, print beautiful diaries in London, order for expensive (he called them top quality!) corporate gifts from London! Occasionally, he would invite us to his official residence on Thompson Street, Ikoyi. Union Bank had the third largest number of properties in Nigeria after the federal government and UACN!

“When he retired from the bank in 2005, Dangogo moved to Abuja and then Kaduna where he set up a school for the teaching of public relations… For whatever reasons, he left Kaduna for Katsina, his homestead, and started to fall ill. The sickness saw him in and out of hospital. By September last year, he had gone into a coma and needed to be moved back to Kaduna for better treatment. When in October 2024 Mr. Barde visited him, Mallam Kabir Dangogo could not recognize his right hand man of nearly three decades! He breathed his last on March 6, 2025 at the age of 76 years. He will be sorely missed!”

May Allah forgive Kabir his shortcomings and admit his soul into Jannatul Firdaus!

The recall process of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, is currently ongoing across the five senatorial districts of Kogi State.

Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan was suspended from the Senate for six months.

The embattled senator has been at loggerheads with Senate President Senator Godswill Akpabio, whom she accused of sexually harassing her.

Details later...

[DailyPost]

The senate has postponed a decision on approving the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers state until Thursday.

Opeyemi Bamidele, the senate leader, recommended that the motion be “stepped to the next legislative day”, a proposal seconded by Abba Moro, the minority leader.

When Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the matter to a voice vote, the majority of lawmakers supported the delay.

The motion, listed as the first item for discussion, was put on hold before any debate could take place.

According to the order paper, the senate acknowledged that the crisis in Rivers had left the state at a standstill, preventing residents from fully benefiting from democratic governance.

“The senate also notes that the state has been at a standstill since the crises started with the good people of Rivers state not being able to enjoy the dividend of democracy,” the motion reads.

“The senate observes the magnitude of the crises has overwhelmed the state government as parties involved have not allowed good sense to prevail and bring about peace in the state hence federal government attempts to restore peace, security and good governance.”

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political crisis in the state.

[TheCable]

 Czech National Bank board member Jan Kubicek is "sceptical" about the inclusion of bitcoin among the bank's hefty reserves, wary of legal uncertainties and concerns around volatility of the digital currency.

CNB Governor Ales Michl put bitcoin up for consideration earlier this year, and the bank has begun an analysis looking into broadening the asset classes it holds in its reserves portfolio.

"We will assess different classes of assets. Bitcoin is just one of them," Kubicek said in an interview on Tuesday. "My position is rather sceptical about bitcoin."

He said bitcoin's legal status was one concern, and that direct ownership would mean developing many new processes in accounting or auditing, for example.

Volatility was another worry and assessing market price developments was difficult, he said.

"We cannot be certain that bitcoin's volatility in the coming years will mirror the patterns observed over the past decade because I suspect that, if more institutional investors accept bitcoin as an investment asset, it will start to behave differently from what we have seen so far."

The bank's study on new asset classes could come by October, Kubicek said.

Holdings of international corporate bonds could be explored, he said, as well as the possibility of investing in more targeted equity indices, such as for technology, and property investment funds.

CNB Vice Governor Eva Zamrazilova has said bitcoin is not a suitable asset for reserves, while European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde has also said Europe's central banks are not the place for it.

The Czech central bank's reserves - at 142.8 billion euros ($155.75 billion) - are around 45% of gross domestic product, and it has diversified holdings in recent years, gradually purchasing gold, and shifting a larger portion of the portfolio into equities.

($1 = 0.9168 euros)

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Rachna Uppal)

[(Reuters]

The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDPGF) has vowed to challenge the suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and other elected officials of the state in court. 

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a State of Emergency in Rivers, suspending the governor, his deputy and members of the State House of Assembly.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, the PDP governors asked the President to accept that he had made a mistake and reverse the decision.

The forum accused the President of bias, noting his failure to acknowledge the role played by his Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in fueling the political crisis in Rivers.

Part of the statement said, “We stand in solidarity with Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the good people of Rivers State at this very difficult and trying moment of the state’s political history. There is no other time that our philosophy of ‘TOUCH ONE TOUCH ALL’ is more apt than now.

“He who goes to the court of equity must go with clean hands. Mr. President , your silence on the active role played by your Minister of the FCT in the Rivers impasse is golden and enabling. He has become a law unto himself because he was playing out your script. Now we know. This is totally unstatemanly, biased, and divisive.

“We state categorically that this unwarranted but premeditated attack on Rivers State and the Peoples Democratic Party and other opposition parties is today, the greatest threat to democracy in our dear country.

“Nigeria and it is an ill wind that will blow no one any good. It is a dangerous course of action that will not only endanger our hard won democracy, but will exacerbate the crises in the nation, deepen mistrust, elevate security threats, destroy the economy, and our national cohesion and stability.”

The Governors also said ” The Forum completely aligns itself with the position of the NBA and promises to subject Section 305 (3) of the Constitution to judicial interpretation. This authoritarian shenanigan is unacceptable and cannot stand.

“Mr President is therefore called upon to listen to wise counsel and the voice of reason, as well as accept that he made grevious mistakes and acted in haste, and reverse this atrocious and retrograde decision before it is too late.”

[DailyTrust]

The Federal Government, on Wednesday, said President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in River State was timely and meant to avert an implosion in the state.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, stated this while briefing State House Correspondents at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

“We have about two years into the administration in the state.

“Now, when do you think he (President Tinubu) should have come in? Is it when everything has been destroyed? I don’t think so.

“I think the President has acted timeously. He has given the opportunity to all the parties involved to make amends. Before then, he had to assemble them, and he had tried to mediate,” he stated.

Tinubu had on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.

In a national broadcast, Tinubu cited prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats as reasons for the extraordinary measure.

The crisis, which had paralysed governance in the oil-rich state, stems from a power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

As part of the directive, the President also appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.) as the sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs until normalcy is restored. Ibas served as Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu announced, “In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State, the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State has failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, March 18, 2025 and I so do.

“By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.

“In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd.) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.”

[Punch]