State of Emergency: You’ve no justification for suspending Fubara, others – El-Rufai to Tinubu

Former Kaduna State governor and Social Democratic Party (SDP) chieftain, Nasir El-Rufai, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rethink his decision to suspend elected officials as part of the emergency rule declared in Rivers State.

During a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, President Tinubu announced a state of emergency in Rivers due to prolonged political tensions.

Alongside this declaration, he suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the state assembly.

Reacting to this, El-Rufai took to his X account on Wednesday to criticize the move, stating that the justifications given by the Tinubu-led government were flawed.

He stated that the Nigerian Constitution does not grant the president the authority to suspend elected officials, warning that such an action poses a threat to democratic federalism.

“There are things that are so clearly wrong that the justifications summoned in their defence fall flat. The decision of Mr. President to suspend the elected officials of the Rivers State Government is one of those. Our country’s Constitution does not support it precisely because it is dangerous to our system of democratic federalism for an elected president to assume and exercise powers to suspend elected officials at the State level,” El-Rufai stated.

While acknowledging the security concerns raised by President Tinubu, the former governor suggested that the military could have been empowered to handle the situation without dismantling democratic structures.

He argued that a state of emergency should focus on enhancing security operations rather than suspending elected officials, citing a Supreme Court ruling in Dariye vs. Attorney General of the Federation, which declared such suspensions unlawful.

El-Rufai also reminded Tinubu of his past criticisms of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had declared a state of emergency in the North-East without suspending elected officials.

“It is my view that Mr. President should review this decision and return to the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law. As an opposition figure, Senator Bola Tinubu had made his voice heard against the decision of then-President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of emergency in the North-East, even when that decision did not extend to the suspension of elected officials and institutions,” he noted.

He further called on Nigerians to speak up against what he described as a violation of the Constitution, warning that failure to act could lead to a repeat of the 1962 Western Region political crisis.

“I appeal to all patriots and voices of reason to join in calling an end to this gross violation of the Constitution and disrespect for the rule of law,” El-Rufai added.