KANO – The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has said that President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is not only unconstitutional, but could lead to anarchy.

Kwankwaso who opposed the action also criticized the 10th National Assembly for drifting into becoming more rubberstamp than its predecessors for failure to check what he described as the excesses by the executive.

The former Senator in a post he titled “My stance on the Declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State” on his verified Facebook handle, said, “Reflecting on our journey in 1992/93 and the events leading to the annulment in 1993, I remember our mistakes as parliamentarians in the National Assembly, where we focused on leadership tussle instead of holding our primary legislative work. Our failure to hold our responsibility distracted us from the happening that brewed on the Executive side, and which led to the sad events that still define our political history.

“I have closely followed developments in Rivers State in the past two days, and my initial silence was informed by the desire to let the authorities and parties in the conflict to do what is right.

“First, I am perturbed by the unilateral decision of President Bola Tinubu to suspend Governor Similayi Fubara of Rivers State, his Deputy and all elected state legislators from office.

“The legislature has the responsibility to hold the executive responsible and not always play to its tune. It is therefore appalling to see this 10th Assembly become more rubberstamp than any of its predecessors.

“More disturbing is the unilateral decision by both chambers of the National Assembly to ratify the president’s proclamation. I had hoped that the legislators would not add salt to injury by passing this illegality. The Constitution is clear on the method of voting on issues of such importance, and the decision to use the voice vote in deciding this is not consistent with the proper procedures and transparency.

“The decision by the legislators to speedily discuss and decide on a state of emergency that alters the democratic leadership structure in Rivers State undermines our democracy.

“Our judiciary also has the very important task of balancing the balance of power by being fair to all parties in any conflict. I believe that the custodians of the Law in Nigeria need to wake up to their responsibility of calming nerves by being as just as possible, with judgments devoid of any hint of external influence.

“At this age of our democracy, this action by President Tinubu to suspend all elected officials in Rivers State is not only unconstitutional, but also a recipe for anarchy and disregard for the highest public office in the state. The National Assembly that should check this excess should not encourage it.



https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/state-of-emergency-your-action-unconstitutional-recipe-for-anarchy-kwankwaso-tells-tinubu/