Former Kaduna State governor and chieftain of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Nasir El-Rufai, has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s suspension of elected officials in Rivers State, describing the action as unconstitutional and dangerous to Nigeria’s democracy.
According to OOU GAZETTE , Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency in Rivers due to the ongoing political crisis and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the state assembly.
El-Rufai, in a statement released via his personal X account on Wednesday, rejected the move, arguing that the justifications presented by the Tinubu-led administration were flawed.
“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 that the security concerns cited by Tinubu deserved serious attention, he maintained that the military and security agencies could have handled the threats without dismantling the state’s democratic structures.
“A state of emergency could surely have been proclaimed to grant the relevant security agencies the extraordinary powers and necessary resources to enable them to address the problem. Extending the provisions of such an emergency regime to include the dismantling of democratic structures is a wanton aggression against democratic tenets and the rule of law,” he said.
Citing legal precedent, El-Rufai referenced the Supreme Court ruling in *Dariye vs. Attorney General of the Federation*, which, he said, declared the suspension of elected officials unlawful.
The former governor also reminded Tinubu of his past criticisms of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who declared a state of emergency in the North-East but did not suspend elected officials.
“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 said.
El-Rufai urged Tinubu to reconsider the decision and restore democratic governance in Rivers State, warning against a repeat of the 1962 Western Region crisis.
“Let us not keep silent while the slippery slope of replicating the events of emergency rule in the old Western Region in 1962 unfolds before our very eyes. 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,” he added.