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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has slammed President Bola Tinubu for abusing his office and violating the constitution by suspending Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, during the controversial period of emergency rule in the state.
The opposition party insisted that the President’s action was a reckless display of authoritarianism and demanded an open apology to Nigerians.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Timothy Osadolor, Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, described Tinubu’s decision as unconstitutional and dangerous for Nigeria’s democracy.
“Yes, I think the President was overreaching. When I read the last paragraph of his speech, where he spoke to governors as if he were a headmaster in a classroom, I felt he should understand fully well that there is a clear division of powers,” Osadolor said
He warned that if a sitting President could suspend an elected governor without due process, then nothing would stop future presidents from riding roughshod over state institutions and citizens’ rights.
“If he has the powers to remove elected governors, who now has the powers to check the President, who was also elected? First and foremost, I would have expected the President to apologise not only to Nigerians but to the wider public,” Osadolor added.
The PDP youth leader accused Tinubu of undermining the principle of separation of powers and bribing his way through the National Assembly to legitimise an “abnormal and illegal report.”
“He did what he did before sending messages to the National Assembly, who allegedly were induced financially to ratify an abnormally ill report. For me, we must encourage stronger institutions and more respect for the Constitution of the land,” he said.
Osadolor also blasted the combative tone of Tinubu’s address to governors and stakeholders during the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers, saying it reeked of military dictatorship.
“The last paragraph where he spoke to these governors and their stakeholders as if he were a military commander is uncalled for. He should learn to respect offices and recognise that elimination of powers is a threat to the Constitution,” he stressed.
The PDP stalwart called for a thorough probe of what he termed the “six-month aberration of an occupational government involving Universal People,” insisting that there was no constitutional provision empowering the President to suspend a governor before the National Assembly acts.
“No President, no matter how powerful or emotionally challenged or motivated he may be, should use the authority of his office to rip apart the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he declared.
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