“Jonathan Criticised Tinubu”: 5 Things That Have Happened Since the State of Emergency in Rivers
- The state of emergency declared in Rivers state on March 18, 2025, and the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara has continued to generate concerns in the polity
- While many politicians and prominent figures, including ex-President Jonathan and Wole Soyinka criticised President Tinubu's action, the National Assembly's approval of the emergency rule through a controversial voice vote also drew strong criticism
- In the wake of the recent developments in Rivers state, Legit.ng outlined five things that have occurred following Tinubu's declaration in the oil-rich region
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
In a significant twist of events, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shocked many Nigerians when he declared a state of emergency for Rivers State on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, over the political crisis and instability in the oil-rich south-south state.
Source: Facebook
Tinubu also suspended Siminalayi Fubara, Rivers state governor, and members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
The president also appointed a new sole administrator to oversee the state, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, who has already started work.
His decision was backed by the National Assembly in a controversial voice vote that has been heavily faulted and generated criticism in the polity.
Following the recent developments in Rivers state, Legit.ng compiled five major things that have happened after Tinubu's declaration of an emergency rule in Rivers:
PDP governors, CSO head to Supreme Court
Source: Facebook
Governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have dragged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly before the Supreme Court over suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
The 12 governors elected under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also rejected the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers state.
The seven PDP governors of Bauchi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Enugu, Osun, Plateau, and Zamfara states challenged Tinubu’s power to suspend an elected governor.
The PDP governors through their Attorney-Generals described the suspension as unconstitutional.
They urged the Supreme Court to declare that “the suspension of Governor Siminalaye Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly was unconstitutional, unlawful, and in gross violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
This was after four out of the six govenors of the South-South geopolitical zone also condemned the state of emergency in Rivers state.
However, the governors of Edo, Imo and Cross River states backed Tinubu's emergency rule and Fubara's suspension.
Meanwhile, a civil society organisation, Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), sued President Bola Tinubu over what it described as "the clearly unlawful" suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and Rivers state lawmakers.
Also, in a statement, SERAP deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, disclosed that it filed a suit at the federal high court in Abuja on Friday, March 21, via three members of its Volunteers’ Lawyers Network (SVLN) in Rivers state—Nengim Ikpoemugh Royal, Yirabari Israel Nulog, and Gracious Eyoh-Sifumbukho.
In a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday morning, March 23, SERAP said "democracy works best when everyone participates."
Argument over National Assembly support of State of emergency
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One interesting discussion about the Rivers emergency rule was the National Assembly's approval of President Bola Tinubu's decision.
According to the constitution, Tinubu needed the vote of 2/3rd majority of the members of the National Assembly to support the state of emergency declaration before it will take full effect.
Interestingly, Both the Senate and the House of Representative voted in support, but instead of members voting one by one to determine two-third majority, it was a voice vote the members used.
Afam Osigwe a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), insisted that that this method of voice voting was unconstitutional.
"For you to make sure that you follow the constitutional requirement of two-third majority, you must to indicate the number of people who attended the session, the number of people who voted for or against, and the number of the people who abstainedto vote. And you cannot get that by a voice vote," Osigwe said in an interview.
"So the use of voice vote in both chambers also underscored the unconstitutionality of the whole action."
Members of the Nigeria House of Representatives was 360 and the Senate has 109 members, so two-thirds majority was supposed to be 240 and 73 in both chambers respectively.
Recall that the Senate convened to debate and vote against or in support of the president's move, and some senators allegedly kicked against the move during plenary on Thursday, March 20, and this formed the basis of their clash with Senate President Godwsill Akpabio.
Three notable senators walked out of the chamber in protest against the Senate president's decision on the matter. These members have been named as Senators Seriake Dickson, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Aminu Tambuwal.
Aminu Tambuwal, a serving member of the senate and former governor of Sokoto state, said he was sure that the number of senators who attended plenary were not up to 73 on the day the Senate approved the state of emergency in Rivers.
"President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a State of emergency. He got two-thirds majority in the senate and the House of Representatives. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 2013 in Borno state. Also, in Adamawa and Yobe states. We had two-thirds to approve it," Tambuwal said.
'Parliament, judiciary pretending to be asleep' - Jonathan
Source: Facebook
Former President Goodluck Jonathan also condemned President Bola Tinubu's suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other elected officers in the Rivers State House of Assembly, saying the development was a dent on the image of Nigeria.
The former president, who spoke as the chairman at the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium in Abuja on Saturday, March 22, expressed his disappointment over the removal of the elected officers.
He said he was not expected to comment so that he would not fuel the polity, at the same time, he has been inundated with calls to speak on the situation as the prominent son of the Ijaw.
The former president explained that the situation was that an individual could dictate to the judiciary what should be done. He added that the situation made it difficult for anyone to have faith in the judiciary.
Jonathan said:
“These actions by key actors in the executive and legislative arms of government paint the country in a negative light.”
Soyinka, Tinubu ally, condemned the president's action
Source: Facebook
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, also faulted President Bola Tinubu over the decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers state.
Soyinka described President Tinubu’s decision as “over-excessive" and could have been managed in a better way.
He called on the suspended Rivers state governor Fubara and all the affected parties to challenge their suspension all the way up to the Supreme Court to ascertain if Tinubu’s decision was legal or not.
Fubara makes 1st public appearance after suspension by Tinubu
Source: Facebook
Meanwhile, the suspended governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara, made his first public appearance after suspension as he attended a church service on Sunday, March 23, at the headquarters of Salvation Ministries in GRA, Port Harcourt.
The embattled governor's presence dispelled speculation that he had relocated to neighbouring Bayelsa state. It also confirmed that he is safe, contrary to an alarm raised by a political stakeholder who feared for his life.
Read more about Rivers crisis here:
- Rivers: Drama as resigned HoS, wife argue over claim Fubara ordered bombing of Assembly
- “Tinubu would have resisted suspension as gov, Fubara should fight,” ex-Presidential aide speaks
- Rivers emergency rule: “What Wike stands to benefit from Tinubu’s declaration,” Top analyst speaks
- Rivers sole administrator suspends SSG, other appointees
Wike's security did not invade Fubara's private residence
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Rivers state political crisis took a different dimension when President Bola Tinubu announced the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
There were claims that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike's security operatives attacked the private residence of the suspended governor in Rivers state.
However, the claim has been fact-checked considering the implications of the claim on Nigeria's democracy and Rivers' peace.
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Source: Legit.ng
