Ndume insists Rivers emergency wrong, hails Fubara’s maturity

A former Senate Majority Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, has insisted that the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State was wrong, while commeding Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his maturity in the face of the political crisis.

Ndume, a chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday on the sidelines of the ongoing 2nd 2025 ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar.

The Borno lawmaker and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, known for his criticisms of the Tinubu government, maintained that there was no justification for the emergency rule declared by Tinubu in River State in March, sending Governor Fubara, his deputy and members of the House of Assembly on a six-month suspension.

The PUNCH reported that the emergency rule expired on September 18 and  President Tinubu, through a press statement on September 17, restored the governor  and the legislators back to power.

However, Ndume, speaking on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, warned that such action undermines democratic principles and could set a dangerous precedent.

“Supposing somebody wakes up one day to say he is declaring a state of emergency in Nigeria? It’s just mad, you know! Like America now, the UN now, can they declare a state of emergency in Nigeria and say the Nigerian government should be suspended? It is wrong. What is wrong is wrong,” the lawmaker said.

The Borno South senator stressed that democracy thrives only when the executive, legislature, and judiciary operate independently yet interdependently, adding that sidelining any arm of government was a direct assault on democracy.

“If you remove the legislature from democracy, what do you have? You don’t have democracy, and at the same time, you can’t have democracy without the executive or the judiciary. They must exist together to make democracy work,” Ndume maintained.

Despite his criticism of the emergency declaration, Ndume commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for displaying restraint and maturity during the political crisis.

“It takes exceptional maturity as a leader by saying let the past be past and let’s move forward, and that is what a leader is supposed to do. And I hope that everybody, including you (journalists) and every Nigerian, will now concentrate on making sure that democracy is sustained,” he said.

The senator also urged Rivers leaders to avoid plunging the oil-rich state into renewed crisis, stressing that its vast natural resources should be harnessed for development rather than squandered through political conflicts.

“What Rivers alone has, about 15 to 20 countries in Africa put together don’t have. Yet, most of you are suffering, or all of us are suffering. Running government on discretion, personalising or even privatising it, is the main thing setting Nigeria back,” Ndume added.