ABUJA/Nigeria: The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee in the South-South, Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, has condemned the State of Emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, aligning himself with the position of the South-South Governors and vowing legal action to challenge the decision.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS, Ogidi described the move as a dangerous assault on democracy, arguing that it violates Section 305(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. He maintained that President Tinubu acted beyond his constitutional powers by suspending a democratically elected governor, deputy governor, and the State House of Assembly, and replacing them with a Sole Administrator.
“The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) have categorically condemned this unconstitutional act. Nowhere in the constitution is the president given the power to unilaterally remove an elected government in this manner,” Ogidi stated.
The PDP South-South chairman also accused President Tinubu of overlooking the real instigator of the crisis in Rivers State, pointing fingers at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
“In all of this, the president never mentioned the man at the center of the crisis, Chief Nyesom Wike. It is clear where the problem lies, yet the punishment is being meted out to the wrong people. This is unacceptable,” Ogidi said.
Echoing the concerns of South-South governors, Ogidi insisted that the reasons cited by President Tinubu for declaring the emergency do not meet the constitutional requirements for such drastic action. He vowed that the PDP would resist what he described as a politically motivated attack on Rivers State.
“Our party will not be intimidated. We shall explore every legal avenue to overturn this unconstitutional executive order. The conditions for a State of Emergency are clearly defined in Section 305(3), and they cannot be twisted to serve the selfish interests of a few individuals or a political party,” he declared.
The South-South Governors Forum, led by Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State, has also called on President Tinubu to rescind the decision, warning that it poses a grave threat to the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
