President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the State House of Assembly has once again drawn criticism from Anabs Sara-Igbe, a well-known Ijaw leader and elder statesman.
Sara-Igbe claimed in an interview with Vanguard that President Tinubu’s actions violated the nation’s constitution.
Because the National Assembly is no longer an autonomous branch of government and has failed in its duty to curb the executive’s excesses, the former spokesperson for the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) contended that Tinubu may take the move.
With the actions in Rivers State, he continued, Nigeria is moving closer to a civilian dictatorship and courting military intervention.
Speaking in light of recent claims that Nigerian democracy is dead made by former President Oluesegun Obasanjo and Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Sara-Igbe concurred that it is obvious that democracy is in danger when leaders disregard the constitution’s provisions.
According to him, “Nigeria is trending toward dictatorship.” A civilian dictatorship is extending an invitation to its military brothers. It is comparable to an insider inviting an outsider.
As a result, law and order is disintegrating, democracy is in danger, and the leaders are no longer abiding by the constitution.
Sara-Igbe contended that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government all broke the constitution and did not fulfill their constitutionally mandated duties in relation to the proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
“They have committed constitutional violations. The president has transgressed constitutional law. The President has breached the constitution with relation to Rivers State, as you can see if you look at Sections 188 and 189.
Sections 183, 188, and 189, which deal with the removal or illegibility of the governor, do not contain any provisions that give the president the authority to suspend or fire a governor.
Furthermore, they are now considering permanently suspending him, which would be a sign that democracy has died. I support them. We are rapidly approaching a dictatorship.
“We observe that every branch of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—has broken the law.” The constitutional requirement in Section 305 that a two-thirds majority of members must vote on matters pertaining to a state of emergency was not implemented by the legislature. Since they used a voice vote, we were unable to determine the number of voters who were present or absent.
The due process of law was not followed in any of these cases. The rule of law has been abolished. My recommendation is that Mr. President exercise caution.
“He should go back; he cannot let one man ruin the nation.” He shouldn’t harm both his own standing and the democratic system as a whole.
There’s still time.
But before the nation is further ensnared in constitutional mistakes, the Ijaw leader urged President Tinubu to make a quick withdrawal.
“What is taking place today is illegal and a violation of the Nigerian constitution. Therefore, the head of state has the authority to make apologies, Mr. President.
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Again, by overturning the Supreme Court’s ruling, Mr. President broke the law. According to the Supreme Court, funds should not be disbursed to the Rivers State government until the budget has been presented.
“Mr. President disregarded the Supreme Court and announced funding without a budget. All of them are constitutional violations. All of these actions are being taken by the president because he is aware that the National Assembly has also violated the constitution and is compromised. He argued that the executive has regained control over the judiciary.
