Former Rivers Governor and former transportation industry man Rotimi Amaechi condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for suspending the moratorium Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi ODU and members of the Rivers State Capitol.
In a statement released on Wednesday, March 19, Amaechi described the move as “undemocratic, unconstitutional and violation of the Nigerian Constitution.” He called on the National Assembly, the governor and stakeholders to reject what he called “illegal power grab”.
Amaechi argues that President Tinob has surpassed constitutional authority by suspending officials from elected states. Amaechi cites Article 188 of the Nigerian Constitution that the governor can only be deleted through a clearly defined improper process, rather than through a presidential decree.
“Using this single move, the president has technically suspended democracy in River State.
He further questioned Tinubu’s use of Article 305, which allowed the president to declare a state of emergency, noting that it would not give him the power to “disband the government’s elected weapon.”
Amaechi accused certain forces of political takeover in the state. He urged the governor, lawmakers and Nigerians to cross the political gap to resist what he called “bold violations of democracy.”
“In the trajectory of our country, all people with good intentions and conscience should oppose this bold act of violation of our constitution and rape against our democracy, and this illegality must be known and understood in a clear way.”
Amaechi, who served as chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), praised the governor who opposed the moratorium. He urged others to join in rejecting the move and prevent “Nigerian descendants from falling into totalitarianism”.
