Liborous Oshoma, a lawyer, has shared his thoughts on President Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, which led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all members of the House of Assembly.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV from 1:03, Oshoma said this decision brings back memories of when former President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three northern states while Tinubu was in the opposition. He explained that at the time, Tinubu’s party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), strongly argued that a state of emergency did not give the president the power to remove a sitting governor from office
In Oshoma’s words: “When the President Tinubu was in opposition, when the State Of Emergency that you talked about was declared (by Jonathan in 3 northern states) let us cast our mind back to the position of the ACN then. Their position was that when a State of Emergency is declared the president has no power to remove a sitting governor from office and that there is nothing in the constitution that requires a sitting governor to vacate his office”