By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Bola Tinubu of exceeding his constitutional powers in suspending Governor Siminilayi Fubara during the period of Emergency Rule in Rivers State and insisted he must apologise to Nigerians.
Timothy Osadolor, Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while reacting to the President’s decision during an interaction with Vanguard.
He said Tinubu’s action undermined the separation of powers and set a dangerous precedent 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 argued that if the President could assume the power to suspend elected governors, then no effective check would exist on presidential authority. He added that such overreach was a direct violation of the 1999 Constitution.
“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,” he said.
The PDP youth leader further urged Tinubu to encourage the National Assembly to legislate against any repeat of what he called an ‘arrogant suspension of a governor.’ He accused lawmakers of being compromised to endorse an unconstitutional process.
“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,” Osadolor said.
He insisted that Nigeria is governed by rules and regulations, warning that no President, however powerful or motivated, has the right to violate the nation’s Constitution.
“No President, no matter how powerful or how 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 said.
Osadolor also faulted the tone of Tinubu’s address to governors and stakeholders, saying it was ‘uncalled for and unnecessary.’
“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 said.
He called for a thorough probe of what he described as the ‘six-month aberration of an occupational government involving Universal People,’ stressing that the episode exposed weaknesses in Nigeria’s governance system.
“There is no provision that empowers the President to suspend a governor before going to the National Assembly. It is the National Assembly alone that has that responsibility. I so recommend,” he added.
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