Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has accused President Bola Tinubu of violating Nigeria’s constitution by declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State and removing Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Speaking at the 9th Annual Leadership Discourse of the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation (AAF) in Lagos on Thursday, themed “Fearless Leadership: A Panacea for Sustainable Development,” Amaechi described the move as unconstitutional and criticized the National Assembly for enabling an “illegal government.”
Amaechi argued that governance in Nigeria is increasingly driven by the whims of individual leaders rather than the rule of law. “For a governor or president, it is not what is in the book that is law, but what he or she does,” he said. “The pronouncement of an illegal and unconstitutional state of emergency in Rivers State, aided by weak institutions like the National Assembly, which is very weak, is a clear example.”
He further emphasized that Tinubu’s actions constituted a direct breach of the constitution, which he described as the “Bible of the country” whose sanctity must be protected. “The president didn’t break any law; he broke the constitution,” Amaechi stated. “He looked at the whole of Nigeria, removed an elected governor in Rivers State, and appointed a military man, yet the country continued. Nothing happened.”
Expressing dismay at the National Assembly’s inaction, Amaechi called the Red Chamber a “very weak institution” that failed to uphold constitutional principles. He lamented the broader implications for Nigeria’s democracy, noting that such breaches undermine the sacredness of the nation’s legal framework.
The former governor’s remarks have sparked renewed debate over the legality of the state of emergency in Rivers State and the role of federal institutions in safeguarding democratic norms.