By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Roy Nweze, has backed the recent Emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers state.

Nweze said Tinubu’s decision was to restore normalcy in the oil- rich state and also to protect lives and property of residents.

Tinubu had on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency which led to the suspension of Governor Siminialayi Fubara, his Deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, and all the state House of Assembly lawmakers for six months.

Reacting to the development,Nweze a constitutional lawyer with many years of experience and practice Lauded president Tinubu saying his quick intervention has saved destruction of valuable properties and waste of human lives in River State.

He, however, dismissed those criticizing the action of Mr President to eschew the expression of emotions and sentiments while judging on the matter.

He said: “I want to say that nobody is saying that the president does not have power to declare a state of emergency in any state if an extraordinary situation arises. What some people are saying is that, yes, the president has the power to declare a state of emergency, but in making such a declaration he should not suspend the governor of the state.

“Nobody is doubting the fact that section 305 of the 1999 constitution as amended gives the president the power to declare a state of emergency in any state and then to approach the national assembly for ratification of the declaration if they see it fit.

“He has to approach them within two days from the date of the making of the declaration if the national assembly is in session but if the national assembly is not in session, then within 10 days. And I know he has already contacted the national assembly and they intend to consider the declaration today.

“So the issue that is bothering most people, especially lawyers, is the couching of the provisions of section 305 of the 1999 constitution. That section actually tends to create doubts as to whether in the declaration of a state of emergency, the president can or cannot suspend the governor of a state, his deputy and the members of the state house of Assembly.

“Now those who are making categorical statements that the president cannot suspend or can suspend the state electees, of course they know within themselves that they cannot stand their feet and say that they are too sure of what they are saying.”

The legal luminary noted that the declaration of a state of emergency by the President pertains to the existence of an extraordinary situation, an abnormal situation which the declaration seeks to arrest in order to restore normalcy.

He said: "Now It may sometimes happen that the people who are causing this, the people who are responsible for the declaration of a state of emergency may be the people who are in office like the governor, the deputy governor, the house of assembly members as is clearly the case in River State.

“So, now the question will be since a declaration of a state of emergency involves restriction of rights, if the governor, the deputy governor and the house of assembly members are not suspended, how would is going to handle the security situation.

“Now we are dealing with a state where the governor and the house of assembly members have been having problems since 2023 or thereabout. Now this problem culminated in the burning of the state house of Assembly. Now there is a video in circulation where the governor told the youths that when it would be needed for them to act he would tell them. Now the question then Is, whether the present acts of blowing up oil pipelines, gas pipelines, whether those youths have actually not been instructed.”

Speaking on the constitutional rights of the President to declare a state of emergency in River State, Nweze said: “I am saying that there is no way the president will arrest the situation in River State without suspending the governor and the house of Assembly. I don’t believe in sentiments. The law has to be said the way it ought to be said, because in the interpretation of law you must take so many things into consideration.

“As I said before, the declaration of a state of emergency means that there exists an abnormal set of affairs that will need to be dealt with in some extraordinary ways. The need for the application of those extraordinary ways to deal with the situation is what underlies the essence of the declaration of a state of emergency.

“So whether the state governor and his deputy and house of assembly members would remain in their offices or should be suspended would depend largely on whether they are remaining in their offices would hamper or assist in the resolution of the abnormal situation that led to the declaration of the state of emergency.”

Nweze recalled that When Goodluck Jonathan was in office, he declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and one other state. “He did not remove the governor, the deputy governor and the house of assembly members, because it was obvious that they were not the people causing the problem. So, in the case of Rivers state, the people who have been suspended are the same persons who are responsible for the declaration,” Nweze said.

On why President Bola Tinubu did not suspend the minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike as well, the constitutional lawyer said: “What l can tell you is that there is nothing anybody, if you want to speak on the point of law, there is nothing anybody can say that Nyesom Wike has done in Rivers state. It is not an issue in River State. I’m talking about law because Nyesom Wike is not the House of Assembly members.”

He further blamed Fubara of being very weak as a governor, saying: “The House of Assembly members are adults who are doing things themselves. So, you see people are taking this matter the way it ought not to be. Look at the governor, Fubara. I can tell you, he is inexperienced. The governor I can tell you is weak.

“The governor, I can tell you, is gullible. The governor, I can tell you, takes advice from someone. I can’t see how any governor who has anybody who has actually been Involved in politics, you know who would be doing things the way Fubara is doing. And at the moment, they talk to him he does whatever people tell him. So he can’t use his brain. When Hope Uzodinma was elected in his first tenure, within two months he got all the members of other parties in the house of assembly. They became members of his party.”

Nweze added: “The governor Fubara was incapable of using his powers in order to get all those assembly members.

“If a governor is too weak that he cannot manage his state then he’s not fit to be governor. That’s my submission on that. It’s not every governor that can be removed just like that. Fubara had 4 members of the house of assembly supporting him. 4 out of 32. Haba, it’s too bad.”