El-Rufai Faults Tinubu, Says Fubara, Lawmakers’ Suspension Unconstitutional

Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufa’i has condemned the president’s decree to the Rivers State and criticized the six-month suspension of governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the House of Assembly as unconstitutional.

El-Rufa’i stated in a statement posted on his X handle that the Nigerian Constitution forbids the President from firing or suspending an elected state governor under an emergency rule, citing the dangers of doing so with the democratic system of the country.

El-Rufa’i claimed that a state of emergency could have been established to give the relevant security agencies the necessary authority to address any security issue in the state rather than suspending its executive and legislative branches.

He argued that adding the destruction of democratic structures to the provisions of such an emergency regime would constitute a willful violation of democratic principles and the rule of law.

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“Somethings are so obviously wrong that the justifications used in their defense fall flat,” they say. One of those decisions was made by Mr. President, suspending Rivers State Government elected officials. The Constitution of our nation does not support it because it violates our system of democratic federalism by giving elected presidents the authority to appoint and appoint new ones at the state level. The Constitution and the law preclude and exempt presidents from having to fire those who were elected, but these obligations are heavy and extensive.

The President’s speech cites security issues that “deserve the most serious attention and sustained efforts to contain the threats and protect vital national infrastructure.” We must vigorously support security agencies in their successful discharge.

In Dariye v. Federation Attorney General, the Supreme Court has definitively declared the suspension of elected officials unlawful.

According to me, Mr. President should reconsider this decision and follow the constitution’s and the rule of law’s path. Senator Bola Tinubu, a member of the opposition, had spoken out against Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to declare a state of emergency in the North-East, despite the fact that it did not affect the suspension of elected officials and institutions. In this situation, a similar review is necessary to contain the harm to Rivers State’s citizens and restore the federal government to its constitutional compliance.

Source: Channels TV