Afenifere faults Rivers emergency rule declaration

Afenifere has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State, describing the action as unconstitutional.

This was part of the decisions reached at the end of the national caucus meeting of the group, held at the residence of its former leader, the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo, in Isanya Ogbo, Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The group advised the President to reverse the decision in the best interest of democracy.

It recalled that the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), at a meeting comprising compatriots in Afenifere, the Middle Belt Leaders Forum, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and PANDEF, had also kicked against the decision.

Afenifere also berated the National Assembly for joining hands with Tinubu in desecrating the 1999 Constitution, stating that it demonstrated a lack of courage in defending the democratic rights of the Nigerian people.

The communiqué reads, “Afenifere said that the SMBLF, in a statement issued on March 19, stated categorically that there is no provision in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including Section 305 (5), which allows the Federal Government to take over the government of any of the federating states, not even Section 11 (4) to which Section 305 gives the National Assembly powers in extreme and specified circumstances to make such laws for the peace and good government of a state with respect to matters on which a House of Assembly may make laws.

“In the assurance of the consciousness of its and inherent constitutional powers to check the excesses of the Executive, the National Assembly was called upon to countermand the despotic and ominous order of the President sacking a democratically elected administration in preference for a military administrator to take charge of the affairs of a constituent state of the Federation, in a proclamation reminiscent of our unenviable not-too-distant past.

“Contrary to the expectation of Nigerians, but in a manner consistent with its proven character, the 10th Assembly, in both chambers, not only joined hands with the President in further desecrating the tenuous 1999 Constitution but also demonstrated a lack of courage to defend the democratic rights of the people of Nigeria.

“In clear terms, the provision of the Constitution requiring the concurrence of a two-thirds majority of the members of the National Assembly on any matter is, in the absence of a national referendum, a call for a legislative plebiscite in determining the issue concerned, which must be demonstrated without equivocation.

“That the resort to a voice vote, obscuring compliance with the Constitution on the required number to deal with such a matter of monumental national importance as the Presidential reversal of the electoral decision of the people of Rivers State, is an ill wind that blows the nation no good and spits on the faces of Nigerians.

“Without recourse to other acts of persistent violation of their oaths of office and such others decimating the integrity, particularly of the Nigerian Senate, Afenifere calls on the present leadership of the National Assembly to step aside in the interest of decency, integrity, and respect for the principles of separation of powers, on which fulcrum our democracy lies.

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“In line with the above, Afenifere observed and holds that the recent vote of confidence in the Senate President by his colleagues is an admission of the existence of a crisis of confidence, on which motion the Senate President presided to the chagrin of the world.

“By these very acts, a new gambit has emerged—the crisis of Nigerian constitutionalism—by means of which both the horizontal principle of separation of powers and the vertical principles of federalism are all undemocratically usurped by the all-powerful Executive, who could do whatever he wants.

“This is the same way Hitler hijacked German democracy. Afenifere calls on all people of goodwill to rise up legitimately to restore the rule of law, ensure best democratic practices, and save Nigerian democracy. We must nip this in the bud before our hard-won democracy is destroyed.”

Meanwhile, Afenifere has concluded arrangements to organise a symposium in honour of Pa Adebanjo on April 10 at the Muson Centre, Lagos, in commemoration of his 97th posthumous birthday.

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