By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
The Center For Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN) has described the suspension of democratically elected officials of Rivers State government as unconstitutional, undemocratic and a threat to the hard-earned democracy in Nigeria.
This is even as a former Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo Nwoko (SAN) has described the declaration of a state of emergency in the state by President Bola Tinubu as ill-advised.
According to CHRAN, the President’s action is in violation of Section 1(2), Section 11, Section 188 and Section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The organization in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Uyo and signed by it’s Director, Mr Franklin Isong, said that, “CHRAN rejects the imposition of military rule in Rivers State under the guise of a State of Emergency and calls on the President to be more dispassionate in seeking to resolve the crisis in Rivers State.
“The Center urges the National Assembly, to as a matter of urgency, review the declaration by the President of a State of Emergency in Rivers State which is a threat to the nation’s democracy.”
Nwoko stressed that the President’s action is not well thought because, “the situation in Rivers state has not met any of the conditions prescribed by the constitution for declaration of State of emergency by the President. It falls totally short of it.
“So the Presidents action is ill-advised and it is not based on the provision of the constitution. For me it is part of a script to take over the control of Rivers State which they had already written and have been acting it stage by stage, scene by scene”
Asked if the situation could be salvaged by the judiciary since the action was not based on constitutional provision, Nwoko regretted that the judiciary was even part of the problem in Rivers crisis .
“So I don’t see the Judiciary rising up to the occasion to defend the constitution in this situation. The judiciary has been embarrassingly complicit in the crisis in Rivers”, He simply responded
