Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to reinstate Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the State House of Assembly, describing it as “nothing to celebrate.”
In March, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following a prolonged political crisis between Governor Fubara and lawmakers aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The president subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, and the Assembly, appointing retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator for six months — a move that attracted criticism from legal experts and opposition figures who described it as unconstitutional.
Although some applauded the action as a stabilizing measure, others accused the president of usurping constitutional powers.
After months of political reconciliation, including meetings between Fubara, Wike, and the president, Tinubu on Wednesday lifted the emergency rule and ordered the governor, his deputy, and lawmakers to resume duties.
Reacting in a post on his official X handle, Atiku insisted the president acted outside the law both at the time of suspension and in lifting it.
“Lifting the suspension of Governor Simi Fubara is nothing to cheer about,” Atiku wrote. “The suspension of the Rivers State Governor and the State House of Assembly was unconstitutional when it was done six months ago, and it remains illegal today.
President Tinubu had no power to suspend a democratically elected governor and state lawmakers.”
The former vice president further alleged that the episode reflected what he described as “the dictatorship of the Tinubu administration,” warning that the Rivers situation was a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.
