Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has opposed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to suspend elected officials in Rivers State, describing it as unconstitutional and a threat to Nigeria’s democratic federalism.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, El-Rufai argued that the Nigerian Constitution does not grant a president the power to remove elected state officials.
He stated that while the president has extensive responsibilities, these are bound by constitutional limits and do not include dismissing elected leaders.
Addressing the president’s security concerns, El-Rufai suggested that a state of emergency could have been declared to empower security agencies without dismantling democratic structures.
He described the suspension as a “wanton aggression against democratic tenets and the rule of law,” noting that the Supreme Court had previously ruled such actions unlawful in the case of Dariye vs. Attorney General of the Federation.
El-Rufai urged Tinubu to reverse the decision and uphold constitutional principles.
He recalled that, as an opposition leader, Tinubu had criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan’s emergency rule in the Northeast, even though it did not include the removal of elected officials.
Warning against the dangerous precedent being set, El-Rufai called on Nigerians to resist any move reminiscent of the 1962 emergency rule in the Western Region.
He appealed to patriots and voices of reason to demand an end to what he described as a gross violation of the Constitution.
The statement read, “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.
“The responsibilities of a president are heavy and extensive, but they are constrained by the Constitution and the law and certainly do not include firing persons who were elected.
“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.”
According to El-Rufai, a state of emergency could have been declared to grant the relevant security agencies the powers and necessary resources to enable them to address the problem.
He said, “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.
“The Supreme Court has conclusively declared the suspension of elected officials unlawful in the Dariye vs. Attorney General of the Federation.
“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.”
