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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Senator Ayo Arise, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State and former lawmaker who represented Ekiti North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has said that President Bola Tinubu made the right decision by declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspending the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, over the protracted political crisis in the state.
Governor Fubara was suspended for six months, and he is currently serving his suspension, which commenced on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
Arise, who stated that the President followed due process before proclaiming the emergency rule, posited that Tinubu did not undermine the provisions of the Constitution before making the decision to restore peace in the state.
The former federal lawmaker, who said that Tinubu’s action was in order, maintained that his intervention arrested the situation and prevented the escalation of the crisis in the state.
Arise made the remarks on a popular television station while reacting to the statement of Vice President Kashim Shettima, who appreciated former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, for saving him from being removed as the Governor of Borno State by former President Goodluck Jonathan over the escalation of insurgency.
Shettima had, at the book launch of Adoke, titled “OPL 245: Inside story of the $1.3 billion Nigerian oil block”, claimed that the ex-AGF had told Jonathan that he had no power to remove a sitting governor, raising speculation that the Vice President was indirectly condemning Tinubu for suspending Fubara.
The Senator submitted that the two scenarios were completely different, stressing that the political tussle in Rivers would further escalate if necessary actions were not taken to restore peace and harmony.
He noted that Shettima’s comment was not to vilify President Tinubu but to appreciate Adoke, who saved him from being removed from office when he was the Governor of Borno State.
He said: “I believe what the Vice President did was to go and make a comment to say thank you for somebody who did him a favour because it was a favour.
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“There is no way Boko Haram could have taken almost 14 local governments and a President will sit down and say a state of emergency will not exist to save that governor from the invaders, the Boko Haram people.
“So, I think the fact that Adoke suggested to Mr President that he couldn’t remove him, which is neither here nor there, even though there’s no removal in the case of Fubara. We can see that progress is being made significantly towards reinstating Fubara to his seat.
“And the fact that that governor and his erstwhile predecessor in office were at loggerheads, I think the best thing that happened was that the President took leadership and, before things broke down beyond repair, he had this state of emergency proclamation, and I believe, by and large, he followed the procedure.
“So many things in our constitution, and even the constitution of America, where we copied from, are not explicitly written, and they are not perfect by any means. This reminds us of the doctrine of necessity.
“When in our constitution, it was mandatory for the President to transmit to the VP and not considering the fact that the President could have a heart attack and be incapacitated.
“Now a president sitting down and, all of a sudden, you are hearing that the fuel stations are being bombed, pipelines are being bombed. Should you wait for two or three days until Nigeria is no longer able to have a source of revenue before taking this action?
“I believe that action was taken appropriately, and the procedure was followed thereafter. So, for those people saying that the President does not have the powers to remove a governor, I think it is a no.
“The outcome would have been very different. So, Adoke didn’t do Nigeria any favour or any governor any favour because, if I were the President and I saw danger facing the governor and the people of the state, I would have removed the governor and put a military person there to face these people.
“And I believe the intention was not to vilify the President or to say that the President doesn’t have the powers; the two scenarios are completely different.”
