By: Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr
The time is always right to do RIGHT. And no matter how far gone on the wrong track, greatness is in the ability to turn back and say sorry. And sorry is what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu owes the Constitution because much as Section 188 provides for the Removal of a Governor, it did not envisage or provide for the suspension or otherwise of an elected officer by Executive Fiat or in furtherance to the Declaration of the State of Emergency by the President.
Much as the Constitution provides for the Declaration of a State of Emergency in order to restore law and order where there is a breach, and to forestall the likelihood of a breach of the Peace, it does not empower the President to Suspend the elected officers in the State. So very lucidly the President has erred, and he owes the Constitution an apology.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu owes the People of Rivers State an apology for the ill-informed Declaration of the State Emergency, and the illegal cum unconstitutional suspension of the Rivers State Governor and his Deputy, and the ‘Members of the State House of Assembly’. The President must be humble enough to undo the wrong.
President Tinubu owes the Nation an apology for being a President that is goaded by Court-jesters and Yes-men. He is either surrounded by men and women that cannot advise or guide him right. And if such an error is not corrected, it goes to show most apparently that Mr. President is manifestly ill-prepared for the job of President.
President Tinubu owes the Rivers people an apology for standing with a man whose philosophy in governance is ‘me, myself and I’. To the FCT Minister, Rivers State can jolly well burn to ashes unless and until Fubara opens the Public Till to Wike to plunder.
To Mr President, Mr Wike the agent provocateur of the confusion and commotion that Rivers State has become, does no wrong. Wike must be obeyed having pledged to rig Rivers State in 2027 for President Tinubu like he did in 2023. However, must this shameful danse macabre continue to the detriment of democracy?
I listened to the poorly written Speech where Mr President declared a State of Emergency over Rivers State. Very manifestly it does appear to President Tinubu that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike is without blemish, all the blame was Fubara’s. To Mr President the victim is the aggressor. But Mr President was evidently wrong, and nothing in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers him to sack or suspend Elected Officers of the Rivers State Government. The President therefore owes us an apology, and he must proceed to undo the wrong.
Were his Court-jesters not aware that under the Administration of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Courts lampooned and overturned the Declaration of a State of Emergency where elected Political operators were suspended? Were his Court-jesters and malevolent advisers unaware that when Former President Goodluck Jonathan declared a State of Emergency in the North East under his watch, that none of the affected State Governors was suspended? Has the present Vice President who was then the Governor of Borno become malevolent? Why did he not advise the President against the illegality of the unconstitutional suspension of the Democratic structures in Rivers State?
If the National Assembly chooses to remain the Rubber Stamp of the Executive and undermine its oversight functions, if they refuse to right the horrendous unconstitutional action of the President, must the President himself not walk the high moral ground by rescinding the unconstitutional suspension of the Democratic institutions in Rivers State?
Mr President, you have an opportunity to prove yourself a Democrat and not a Despot. And the most singular test of your democratic credentials is what you do with the present error, blunder and faux pas. Do not be deceived, Sir, your declaration of a State of Emergency where elected Political Operators were suspended defines a descent to despotism.
History will judge you harshly if you do not cease the moment. And history will be very unkind to you if you continue to oblige the undemocratic tendencies of the FCT Minister. After all, the buck stops at your desk, and what you do with this moment is your kettle of fish. I pray you have the courage to restore democratic institutions in Rivers State, and I pray you grow that deep leadership secret that places COUNTRYFIRST.
Mr. President please do not allow Wike’s greed to unluck the anger of the Niger Delta people. And do not continue with the partisan Abracadabra that obviates the truth about Rivers State, Wike and Fubara.
Sir, you have no powers under the law to suspend any Governor or Lawmaker pursuant to Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Seek proper Counsel, and walk the path worthy of great Leaders by rescinding the unconstitutional suspension of the elected Political Structures in Rivers State.
Now is the time to do right, and now is the time to act right Mr. President, please rescind your faux pas, and return democratic institutions in Rivers State. Thank You.
Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr is the Convener of Good Governance Advocacy Group, Countryfirst Movement
