Headlines
NBA Declares Sole Administrator Unconstitutional, Calls for Fubara’s Restoration As Rivers Gov
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has reiterated its position that the removal of the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, by President Bola Tinubu is unconstitutional, urging the President to reverse the decision.
On Tuesday, the President declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending the governor, his deputy and all the members of the House of Assembly over the political crisis rocking the oil-rich State.
The President appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired naval chief, as the State’s Sole Administrator.
Following up with its earlier statement condemning the action of the President regarding Rivers State, the NBA whose President, Afam Osigwe, was a guest on Sunday Politics, insists that Fubara must be brought back to his position as the governor of Rivers State as the constitution does not recognise a Sole Administrator.
“That is our belief, that is what we expect the president to do, to restore him (Fubara) back to power having unconstitutionally removed him,” Osigwe said on the programme when asked if the president should recall the governor.
“And that is why we do not recognise a sole administrator is the rightful person to occupy the government house in Rivers State having been appointed unconstitutionally.
“Even when I saw him taking oath of office, I was wondering which oath he was taking because he was taking an oath not known to the constitution, the constitution does not recognise an administrator.”
Political solution needed
Osigwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) argued that the problem in Rivers State is being cured with a wrong solution, likening it to one using a sledgehammer on his head because of headache.
According to him, the measure being taken to address the Rivers problem “are overreaching, extensive, undemocratic and above all, unconstitutional.”
He maintained that the problem in Rivers State is political and only a political solution will bring it to an end.
No constitutional vacuum
There have been claims in some quarters that there was a gap in Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution which President Tinubu used in taking the action in Rivers State, but the NBA president has refuted that, insisting that the Constitution is explicit enough.
“I do not believe that it (Section 305) is not explicit, I simply believe that we deliberately refuse to apply it the way it is,” Osigwe said.
The National Assembly has approved the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State, but Osigwe does that believe that the lawmakers approval legitimized the President’s action.
He said that the National Assembly’s approval is like placing something on nothing.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
