Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has strongly criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to suspend elected officials in Rivers State, calling it an unconstitutional move that threatens Nigeria’s democratic federalism.
In a statement released on Tuesday, El-Rufai argued that the president’s actions lacked constitutional backing and represented a dangerous precedent for governance in the country.
He insisted that the Nigerian Constitution does not empower a sitting president to unilaterally suspend elected officials at the state level.
“There are things that are so clearly wrong that the justifications summoned in their defence fall flat. The decision of Mr. President to suspend the elected officials of the Rivers State Government is one of those. Our country’s Constitution does not support it precisely because it is dangerous to our system of democratic federalism for an elected president to assume and exercise powers to suspend elected officials at the state level,” El-Rufai stated.
He acknowledged the security challenges referenced by President Tinubu but maintained that addressing them should not come at the cost of dismantling democratic structures. He suggested that a state of emergency, limited to security operations, could have been declared instead of removing elected officials.
“The security issues cited in the President’s speech surely deserve the most serious attention and sustained efforts to contain the threats and preserve vital national infrastructure. That is a duty that we ought to vigorously support the security agencies to successfully discharge. A state of emergency could surely have been proclaimed to grant the relevant security agencies the extraordinary powers and necessary resources to enable them to address the problem. Extending the provisions of such an emergency regime to include the dismantling of democratic structures is a wanton aggression against democratic tenets and the rule of law,” he warned.
El-Rufai further referenced a Supreme Court ruling in Dariye vs. Attorney General of the Federation, which declared the suspension of elected officials unconstitutional, arguing that Tinubu’s actions directly contradict that precedent.
He urged the president to reconsider his decision, drawing attention to Tinubu’s own past stance as an opposition leader when he criticized former President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in the North-East.
“It is my view that Mr. President should review this decision and return to the path of constitutionalism and the rule of law. As an opposition figure, Senator Bola Tinubu had made his voice heard against the decision of then President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of emergency in the North-East, even when that decision did not extend to the suspension of elected officials and institutions. A similar reconsideration is warranted in this case to contain the damage done to the people of Rivers State, and restore the Federal Government to compliance with the Constitution,” El-Rufai added.
Drawing historical parallels, El-Rufai warned that Nigeria risked repeating the mistakes of the 1962 emergency rule in the old Western Region, which led to political instability and long-term consequences. He called on patriotic Nigerians to speak out against what he described as a blatant violation of the Constitution.
“Let us not keep silent while the slippery slope of replicating the events of emergency rule in the old Western Region in 1962 unfolds before our very eyes. I appeal to all patriots and voices of reason to join in calling an end to this gross violation of the Constitution and disrespect for the rule of law.” he concluded.
