Nigerian leaders suspend governors of oil-rich countries in rare emergency rules
Abuja, Nigeria (AP) – Nigerian leaders declared a state of emergency in oil-rich river states and suspended its governor and lawmakers on Tuesday to promote the country’s status as Africa’s top oil producer in a political crisis and sabotage campaign.
Between current Governor Siminalayi Fubara and state legislators, the River’s crisis has been brewing for months, many of which are supported by his predecessor. This week, some lawmakers launched an improper process against the governor, accusing him of committing various violations in prompting the national budget and the composition of the Legislative Assembly Hall.
President Bola Tinubu said he suspended the governor and other elected officials, including state legislators, for six months during state broadcasts.
The Nigerian president criticized the governor for not taking any action to reduce the new incidents of pipeline damage reported in the past 24 hours, including explosions that resulted in the trans pipeline fire in Niger.
“With all this and more, there is no good and responsible president to move forward and allow serious situations to continue without the need to take constitutional remedial steps to resolve the situation in the state,” Tinubu said.
Tinob said that former Nigerian Navy chief deputy deputy Admiral Ibokette Ibas is retired and will become a military administrator in Rivers State and the judiciary will continue to play a role.
After Tinubu announced the news, military trucks were quickly deployed to the River State Government Building.
The Nigerian Constitution allows emergency rules to maintain law and order in rare cases. This is the first time an emergency declared in more than a decade for more than 210 million people whose democracy has been tested by years of military domination and instability.
The Nigerian Bar Association criticized the suspension of the governor and other elected officials as illegal. “An emergency will not automatically disband or suspend the elected state government,” the association’s president Afam Osigwe said in a statement.
The last emergency in Nigeria was announced by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, in the heyday of the Boko Haram rebels, in the northeastern states, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. However, the governor was not suspended at that time.
