Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has strongly condemned President Bola Tinubu’s alleged unilateral removal of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly, describing the move as unconstitutional and reckless.
In a statement shared via his X handle, Obi warned that such actions pose a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy, undermine the rule of law, and set a dangerous precedent for governance. He argued that the decision plunges the country back into lawlessness, undoing the democratic progress made over the past 26 years.
Obi accused the President of displaying a “dangerous willingness to trample on democracy” by bypassing constitutional processes and arbitrarily declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State.
“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is not just reckless—it is a clear attempt to return us to a state of nature and tighten the government’s grip on power at all costs,” Obi stated.
He further criticized the move as a “backdoor imposition of martial rule” and a misinterpretation of Section 305(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which he insists does not grant the President the authority to remove a sitting governor. Obi argued that the action serves specific political interests rather than the collective good of Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole.
Calling on the National Assembly and other democratic stakeholders to resist the move, Obi warned that allowing such impunity to stand would deepen Nigeria’s democratic crisis, encourage lawlessness, and further destabilize the country.
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