By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Tinubu’s administration is reportedly encountering a fierce battle in its bid to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to operationalize and legalize Tinubu’s recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Checks by The New Diplomat show that the declaration of a State of emergency in Rivers State as announced by Tinubu on Tuesday, March 18, has triggered a wave of opposition and division amongst lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly.
The New Diplomat gathered that the lawmakers in both the Senate and the House of Representatives are currently divided sharply along two political blocs- those in support of Tinubu’s emergency rule in Rivers State and those opposed to the State of Emergency in Rivers State. Sources say that this has polarized the two chambers, as many state governors are also said to be pulling the strings from behind.
Said an insider: ” Many state governors are very unhappy, and some Legislators seem to be in bed with their state governors on this matter.”
Indeed, on Thursday, the governors of the South-South geo-political zone called on the President to reverse the emergency rule as declared and return to the path of dialogue. According to the South-South governors, the action of the President is not only inappropriate, but it is unconstitutional as it does not satisfy the provisions stated and outlined in the Constitution.
Following the reported sharp division amongst legislators on this matter, it is not clear how the President’s ally will secure the required legislative numbers to legally operationalize the state of emergency in oil-rich Rivers State.
The New Diplomat reports that under Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution, a presidential declaration of a state of emergency must be approved by at least 240 members of the House of Representatives and 73 senators within a tight timeframe.
Section 305 (6) stipulates that a “proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect (b) if it affects the Federation or any part thereof and within two days when the National Assembly is in session, or within ten days when the National Assembly is not in session, after its publication, there is no resolution supported by two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly approving the proclamation.”
However, checks by The New Diplomat indicate that President Tinubu’s loyalists in the legislature are working round the clock to pull the necessary endorsement through amidst serious opposition from opposing colleagues.
Recall that the House of Representatives on Wednesday failed to vote on the subject matter, which some reports attributed to low attendance. The Senate on its part, similarly deferred its debate on the subject matter to Thursday, March 20.
The New Diplomat gathered that some legislators are reportedly in Saudi Arabia in observance of the lesser hajj and Ramadan fasting.
The consequence of this is that the timing of the declaration of the Emergency rule in Rivers State may be inauspicious for the legislative arm, given that it may find it difficult to garner the required numbers to take a vote on the matter.
According to the 1999 constitution, as amended, the vote on emergency rule shall involve all members, implying that 109 in the Senate and 360 in the House of Representatives shall be required to meet the voting threshold.
It would be recalled that the emergency rule, which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu and the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial six months, has drawn sharp criticism from many Nigerians, including radical Lagos Lawyer Mr Femi Falana, SAN, and many political leaders.
Some legal experts had argued that the decision, which saw retired Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas appointed as sole administrator, amounts to a constitutional blunder, breach and an unwarranted action on the part of Tinubu.
