Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to lift the emergency rule in Rivers State, saying there is nothing to celebrate in what he considers an unconstitutional act from the start.
Atiku insisted that the move only confirms his long-standing fears about the erosion of democratic principles under the current administration.
According to him, the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy Ngozi Odu, and the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly members was unlawful from the outset, making its reversal meaningless.
The ex-vice president maintained that undoing an illegality cannot be portrayed as a victory for democracy, especially in Nigeria.
Atiku expressed his stance on Thursday, a day after the president announced the end of the six-month emergency rule in Rivers, following a prolonged political crisis that paralyzed the functions of both the executive and legislative arms of government.
He further stressed that Tinubu had no legal authority to suspend a duly elected governor and state lawmakers, warning that such overreach signals creeping authoritarianism in Nigeria’s democracy.
According to him, “Lifting the suspension of Governor Simi Fubara is nothing to cheer about. The suspension of the Rivers State Governor and the State House of Assembly was unconstitutional when it was done six months ago and is still illegal today.
“President Tinubu had no power to suspend a democratically elected governor and state lawmakers. The Rivers shenanigans only signpost the dictatorship of the Tinubu administration.
