Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has fiercely criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In a strongly worded statement issued on the 19th of March, 2025, Amaechi slammed the action as “undemocratic, unconstitutional, and a brazen violation of Nigeria’s Constitution.”
He urged the National Assembly, state governors, and political stakeholders to outrightly reject what he described as an “illegal power grab.”
Amaechi did not mince words in accusing President Tinubu of overstepping his constitutional boundaries. He referenced Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, emphasizing that a governor can only be removed through due impeachment procedures not by presidential decree.
“With this singular move, Mr. President has technically suspended and truncated democracy in Rivers State. This clearly violates our Constitution, the same Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Mr. President swore to uphold,” he stated.
He further took issue with Tinubu’s reliance on Section 305, which permits a state of emergency declaration but does not, according to Amaechi, empower the President to “dissolve elected arms of government.”
READ ALSO: Reps Conclude Plenary Without Addressing Tinubu’s Rivers Emergency Declaration
The former governor warned that political forces were orchestrating a dangerous takeover in Rivers State, urging lawmakers, governors, and citizens to resist what he labeled an “audacious violation of democracy.”
“At this inauspicious moment in our nation’s trajectory, all people of goodwill and conscience should rise to oppose this audacious violation of our Constitution and rape of our democracy. Mr. President must be made to know and understand in unmistakable terms that this illegality cannot stand,” Amaechi declared.
Having previously led the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Amaechi commended those governors who had spoken out against the suspension and urged others to take a stand before Nigeria slides into totalitarian rule.
His statement has further fueled an already heated national debate. While some believe Tinubu’s emergency rule in Rivers State is necessary for restoring order, Amaechi and others warn that it sets a dangerous precedent one that threatens the very foundation of democracy.