A former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi, has criticized the National Assembly for supporting President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.
As you may remember, Tinubu imposed a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly because of the state’s ongoing political unrest.
The proclamation was unanimously accepted by the National Assembly on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in spite of the flurry of objections to the development from opposition party leaders, attorneys, and political analysts nationwide.
On Friday, March 21, 2025, Prof. Utomi stated on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily that the lawmakers had destroyed democracy and that he could not openly claim to be from a democracy.
Read Also: NAFDAC Busts Distributor of Fake Bags of Rice in Rivers
Given that the majority of the current members of the National Assembly were hiding when he and other political economy professors campaigned for democracy, the professor claimed that the Senate and House of Representatives’ support of emergency rule was an insult to Nigerians.
According to him, Nigerian democracy was killed yesterday. I cannot claim in public that I am from a democracy because my nation is not one. It is so disrespectful of the Nigerian people’s sensibilities, even in its style.
The actions they took yesterday were disrespectful to the Nigerian people. It has become routine for the National Assembly to disparage the Nigerian people. Democracy no longer exists in our country.
Pat Utomi also criticized the MPs’ voting procedure and the assertion that the voice vote was conducted without dissenting opinions.
According to him, Nigerian officials are destroying the nation’s institutions, and it is tragic that Nigeria has reached a point where the world now mocks the nation.
