Former President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, blaming it as a clear abuse of power by the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
He made this assertion at the annual colloquium organised by the Haske Satumari Foundation in Abuja on Saturday.
The former president said several people had contacted him for comments over the political crisis shortly after Mr Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspended the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and state assembly members for six months.
Mr Jonathan, who said it was unusual for former presidents to comment on the policies and actions of successors to avoid tension, however, likened the development to an Indian proverb and accused political actors of knowing what to do but intentionally failing to do it.
“What is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in Rivers State is like an Indian proverb that says that if somebody is sleeping, really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person, but if that person is pretending to sleep, you find it difficult to wake up that person,” Mr Jonathan said.
He added, “The key actors in Nigeria, from the executive to the legislature, judiciary and the Senate and others are here. And the judiciary, they know the correct thing to do. But they are refusing to do it. They are pretending to sleep, and waking such a person is extremely difficult because the person knows the right thing, a clear abuse of office and a clear abuse of power cutting across from the three arms of government, from the executive to the parliament and the judiciary.”
Mr Jonathan’s statement comes amid divergent views for and against Mr Tinubu’s emergency rule in Rivers State amid the lingering political crisis between Mr Fubara and his political godfather, Nyesom Wike.
The National Assembly also ratified the state of emergency via voice note, a move many have condemned as improper to determine a 2/3 majority in a serious issue like Rivers.
Meanwhile, Peoples Gazette reported on Thursday that the president’s allies paid cash bribes to lawmakers to pass the controversial proclamation, which many opposition political leaders had condemned as unconstitutional.