Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers state is a ploy to intimidate governors to support his re-election bid.
Amaechi spoke in an interview with DW Africa on Friday.
On March 18, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers,
citing the protracted political crisis and vandalisation of oil facilities.
The president suspended Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers
governor; Ngozi Odu, his deputy; and all house of assembly members for six
months.
Tinubu also appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole
administrator of the state.
The president’s decision has been described as unconstitutional
by the opposition, members of civil society and the Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA).
In his criticism of the emergency rule, Amaechi claimed the
president’s move has sown fear in governors “that if you are not careful, the
president will remove you”.
He added that Fubara has “no security responsibility” over
the Rivers crisis and that the suspended governor is being punished for an
offence he “did not commit”.
“It is between the president and the FCT minister. The
president wants a power grab. They want to frighten governors who may not
support them in 2027. So, there is a rumour everywhere that if you are not
careful, the president will remove you,” the former Rivers governor said.
“If the president said it is because of insecurity, because
they blew the pipeline, what about part of the country where there is
insecurity? Is the president saying they should impose emergency rule on him
too? They can’t because he is a democratically elected president. Nobody can
impose an emergency rule on him because there is serious insecurity in the
north-east, north-west — even in south-east and south-west.
“Rivers governor has no security responsibility; it rests
squarely on the president. So why punish a man who did not commit an offence?”
Amaechi called on Rivers residents to “resist the
president”.
He said the resistance should be done “by democratically
protesting against the president”.
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