Fubara, Rivers lawmakers suspended — not removed, says Sunday Dare

Sunday Dare, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on media and public communications, says the president’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers state resulted in a suspension, not the removal, of the state’s administration.

In a statement on Friday, Dare described the move as a necessary constitutional step taken in the national interest to prevent further instability.

He said the crisis in Rivers left the president with no choice but to intervene, as rival factions had failed to reach a resolution.

“In the case of Rivers state, turmoil and crisis had taken over. The rival stakeholders could not see their way toward resolution. Something had to be done before all became undone,” Dare said.

“In this case, President Tinubu stepped up as was his moral and legal obligation to do. In this case, the Constitution, the blueprint of our democracy spells out the options before the President in dire and emergency circumstances.”

Dare added that the deteriorating situation in Rivers had become an existential threat to both democracy and national interest.

He emphasised that Tinubu’s action was within his constitutional powers, arguing that the emergency rule was a temporary measure to restore order.

“The operative word here is Suspension not removal,” Dare said in reference to Tinubu’s suspension of Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor, his deputy, and members of the Rivers state house of assembly.

“There is a 6-month window for the return to normalcy. It is in the  light below that we must understand that the most appropriate, timely and constitutional option available to Mr. President was the declaration of a state of emergency.”

The presidential aide also warned against interpreting Tinubu’s move as a political strategy, insisting that it was a constitutional step taken to prevent anarchy.