By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Presidency has responded to comments attributed to former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka to the effect that the declaration of a State if Emergency in Rivers state was unwarranted and an abuse of power.
Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, who faulted the positions of Nobel Laureate, Soyinka and former President Jonathan on his principal’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State, said the action was necessary.
Ajayi, who spoke with Sunday Punch on the development in Rivers, said while Soyinka and Jonathan are respected statesmen, their opinions are personal.
He said, “Professor Wole Soyinka and former President Goodluck Jonathan are respected statesmen. Like many Nigerians that have offered varied opinions on the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, the two distinguished Nigerians have also offered their own opinions too.
“President Tinubu has a country to govern, and he has exercised his power under the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“President Tinubu has a duty to preserve the corporate existence of Nigeria. He won’t allow any part of the country or state to descend into chaos.
“The Supreme Court ruled that there is no functioning government in Rivers State known to the constitution of Nigeria. President Tinubu won’t fail in his sacred duty to protect and preserve the country.”
Soyinka and Jonathan have both spoken against the suspension of elected officers in Rivers State.
While Jonathan described the development as capable of bringing Nigeria into disrepute, Soyinka said it was against the spirit of federalism.
President Tinubu had, on March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing the breakdown of governance as a result of the war of attrition between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state lawmakers, as well as attacks on oil facilities in the state.
Tinubu also suspended Fubara; his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly.
He thereafter swore in a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ette Ibas, as the state’s sole administrator.
The president relied on Section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to back his action.
Forty-eight hours after the declaration, the National Assembly approved the emergency rule in Rivers State, though some lawmakers expressed their opposition to it.
However, many stakeholders, including governors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, and civil society organisations, have spoken against the emergency rule.
Speaking at the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium in Abuja on Saturday, Jonathan condemned the suspension of democratic rule in Rivers State, saying he was disappointed that elected officials were removed.
“These actions by key actors in the executive and legislative arms of government paint the country in a negative light,” Jonathan, who was the chairman of the programme, said.
The former president maintained that the image and investment opportunities of the country heavily depended on the actions of the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
He blamed the three arms of government for their roles in the Rivers crisis, accusing them of engaging in abuse of power.
“The key actors in Nigeria from the executive to the legislature and the judiciary know the correct thing to do but they are refusing to do it; they are pretending to sleep, and waking such a person is extremely difficult because the person knows the right thing.
“A clear abuse of offices, clear abuse of power, clear abuse of privileges, cutting across the three arms of government — from the executive through the parliament and to the judiciary,” Jonathan said.
He noted that though it was not the norm for former presidents to comment on some issues so as not to heat up the polity, his comment was necessitated by persistent calls from many Nigerians for him to speak on the events in Rivers State as a prominent son of the Niger Delta.
The former president said it was difficult for anyone to have faith in the judiciary in a situation where an individual dictated what to do to the bench.
On his part, Soyinka said the declaration was against the spirit of federalism.
The Nobel laureate, who spoke to an international news outlet, The Africa Report, maintained that the declaration of a state of emergency in the manner with which it was carried out betrayed federalism.
According to Soyinka, the 1999 constitution gives too much power to the president, saying there was the need for a national discussion on the matter.
He said, “If it is constitutionally right, then I think it is about time we sat down and amended the constitution to make sure that it operates as a genuine federal entity.
“The government is over-centralised. The debate will go on whether this (state of emergency) was, in the first place, a wise decision but in terms of fundamental principles, I believe that this is against the federal spirit of association.
“I find that the constitution has put too much power in the hands of the president. The system we are operating right now is not the best for a pluralistic society like ours. That is a fundamental principle I have always held.”
He stated that Nigeria must hold a national conference to change the country’s foundation, adding, “The federal spirit of association is a cardinal principle and, for that reason, some of us have called again and again for a national conference to really accord ourselves an authentic people’s constitution. Right now, in principle, this action is against the federal imperative.”
