The Presidency on Wednesday rose in strong defence of President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying the move was necessary to prevent a total collapse of governance in the oil-rich state.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, who made this known while addressing newsmen at the State House, Abuja, emphasized that the President had exhausted all diplomatic efforts before taking the extraordinary step.
He said: “I think the President has acted timeously. He has given opportunity to all the parties involved to make amends. Before then, he had assembled them, he had tried to mediate”.
President Tinubu, had in a national broadcast on Tuesday, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
Citing prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats, he invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to declare a state of emergency.
The declaration had sparked debate, with critics questioning the necessity of such a measure.
Fagbemi, however, dismissed allegations that Wike was favoured in the decision, asking “was Wike the one that asked the State Assembly to be demolished? I don’t see the hand of the Minister of the FCT in what happened.”
He further urged those aggrieved by the President’s decision to seek redress through the National Assembly.
“If the National Assembly feels what the President did was not okay, he will not have two-thirds from the National Assembly. We are expecting that within 48 hours something will come out,” he stressed
Details Later…
Deji Elumoye
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