The National Chairman of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has knocked the National Assembly following its support for President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State.
Taking to his official X handle, Kwankwaso described the 10th National Assembly as the more rubber stamp than any.
On his position titled ‘My stance on the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State,’ the former Minister of Defence pointed out that it is “appalling to see this 10th Assembly become more rubberstamp than any of its predecessors.”
According to him, the legislature has the responsibility to hold the executive responsible and not always play to its tune.
He noted that, more disturbing is the unilateral decision by both chambers of the National Assembly to ratify the president’s proclamation.
“I had hoped that the legislators would not add salt to injury by passing this illegality. The Constitution is clear on the method of voting on issues of such importance, and the decision to use the voice vote in deciding this is not consistent with the proper procedures and transparency,” he said.
The former Governor of Kano State also stressed that the decision by the legislators to speedily discuss and decide on a state of emergency that alters the democratic leadership structure in Rivers State undermines the country’s democracy.
“Reflecting on our journey in 1992/93 and the events leading to the annulment in 1993, I remember our mistakes as parliamentarians in the National Assembly, where we focused on leadership tussle instead of holding our primary legislative work. Our failure to hold our responsibility distracted us from the happening that brewed on the Executive side, and which led to the sad events that still define our political history,” Kwankwaso averred.
He said having closely followed developments in Rivers State in the past two days, his initial silence was informed by the desire to let the authorities and parties in the conflict to do what is right but perturbed by the unilateral decision of President Tinubu to suspend Governor Similayi Fubara of Rivers State, his Deputy and all elected state legislators from office.
Kwankwaso expressed disgust that at this age of our democracy, the action by President Tinubu to suspend all elected officials in Rivers State is not only unconstitutional, but also a recipe for anarchy and disregard for the highest public office in the state.
He noted that, for a politician that prides himself as a consistent advocate and defender of democracy in the country, the decision by President Tinubu to draft in the military into a position of leadership is hugely dangerous to the progress made in the 26 years of democratic journey.
Kwankwaso said President Tinubu should know better than bringing the military closer to power after the good work President Olusegun Obasanjo did of confining them to their barracks while he led this country.
“This proclamation and the subsequent pronouncements by the Attorney General of the Federation have now sent numerous people in states led by the opposition into disarray, as they set a dangerous precedence for how the Head of State can grip on states that do not share the same political standing with the centre,” he said.
Kwankwaso said he is of the view that the political situation on the ground in Rivers does not justify such a flawed interpretation of section 305(1) of the 1999 constitution stressing that the action constitutes an unconstitutional overdrive, and could foster a culture of impunity if unchecked.
“Our judiciary also has the very important task of balancing the balance of power by being fair to all parties in any conflict. I believe that the custodians of the Law in Nigeria need to wake up to their responsibility of calming nerves by being as just as possible, with judgments devoid of any hint of external influence,” he said.
