Mr. President you don’t have the powers to suspend an elected governor!

By Bala Dakum

The declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State by Mr. President wherein he suspended the elected Executive and Legislative arms of government is illegal, unlawful, most unfortunate and reckless!

While section 305 of the 1999 constitution empowers the president to declare a State of Emergency in a state, federation or any part thereof where the situation calls for such, the said section does not empower the president to remove any elected political office holders.

Sections 188 and 189 clearly stipulate how a governor and his deputy could be removed from office.

The president also lacks the powers to appoint a sole administrator for a state as same is not contemplated by our constitution.

The most worrisome part of this is that, the president’s cabinet is blessed with erudite learned Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

I’m tempted to submit that these SANs were either not consulted or their legal opinions were jettisoned.

It is most worrisome that the president who fought against the military rule will invite a retired military officer to illegally take over from a democratically elected governor.

Whether we’re interested in who’s right or wrong in the political fight between Fubara and River State House of Assembly (Wike) or not, we must not forget that posterity will not be kind to us if we keep mute in the midst of this gross violation of our ground norm.

The National Assembly, which we all know is an extension of the president’s office, now has one opportunity to write its name in gold by refusing to pass any resolution in support of this constitutional aberration.

It is pertinent to remind Mr. President that this State of Emergency may be the beginning of a more violent crisis in Rivers State if not properly managed.

Notwithstanding the fact that the president has directed security agencies to do everything possible to ensure security of lives and properties in Rivers State, this decision may be counter productive.

This is in view of the fact that, until Late President Yar’adua initiated the amnesty programme, the security agencies could not manage the security challenges in the Niger Delta.

While one must not shy away from the fact that politicians always act with ulterior motives (political interests), the last may not have been heard of the Rivers situation considering the fact that the crisis has taken ethnic and tribal undertones.

It is also necessary to remind the president that many parts of this country are experiencing worse security challenges and no state of emergency has been declared in those trouble spots.

The president needs to show that he cares about the federation as a whole and not only states that could in one way or the other determine the votes in 2027.

When Justice prevails we won’t beg for peace.

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