, Afam Osigwe, SAN, has issued a vehement condemnation of the National){kind=link}
Our position at the Nigerian Bar Association is that the proclamation of a State of Emergency in Rivers State is unconstitutional – NBA
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, SAN, has issued a vehement condemnation of the National Assembly’s decision to ratify President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency being implemented in Rivers State.
As a result of this declaration, the elected governor, the deputy governor, and members of the state assembly were suspended in the midst of a political chaos.
During his appearance on Arise television Prime Time on Thursday night, Osigwe emphasized that the NBA considers the declaration of a state of emergency to be unconstitutional, which renders any confirmation by the National Assembly to be null.
Osigwe stated “Our position at the Nigerian Bar Association is that the proclamation of a State of Emergency in Rivers State is unconstitutional. And being unconstitutional, and also the removal/suspension of the governor, his deputy and the state House of Assembly, in our view, these actions are unconstitutional. And being unconstitutional, there’s nothing the National Assembly can ratify because you can’t place something on nothing and expect it to stand.
“Procedural too from the reports I have read, both chambers of the National Assembly passed the same by voice vote. To my mind, when a constitution requires that a certain action should be done by two-thirds majority, you don’t do so by a voice vote.
“You take physical vote and count and declare the number of persons present and number of persons who are actually voted to be sure that constitutional requirement has been met.
“While listening to the Senate President, I heard him talk about section 114, and I thought that section would have put him on enquiry whether the National Assembly can ratify the president’s declaration that the governor stood suspended, and so like the deputy and the House because that section 114 has a proviso that the National Assembly cannot remove a governor or his deputy.
“So if we’re a nation truly committed to obeying our laws, I think the laws clearly stared us in the face that there’s something wrong in ratifying that resolution.
“I was also meant to understand that there’s a proposal to have eminent Nigerians to resolve the issue and it goes back to our position at the Nigerian Bar Association that the problem in Rivers State cannot be solved by declaration of state of emergency, that it can be solved by having a political discuss which involves the major players whose ego have prevented them from placing the people and welfare and security of Rivers State people above every other things.
“And it is being a case of who wins, who blinks first, who can pull the contact of the string; whatever it takes to win to get the other person out of power and in the entire thing, the people don’t count.”
IREPORT247NEW reports that the association, led by president Afam Osigwe, SAN, issued a statement on Tuesday arguing that the president does not have the constitutional authority to oust a democratically elected governor, deputy governor, or state legislator from office under emergency rule.
The statement reads, “This declaration according to the President is due to the prevailing political tension in the state and due to the “vandalization of pipelines.”
“This development has far-reaching constitutional and democratic implications, particularly in light of the provisions of Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which governs the procedure for the proclamation of a state of emergency and which the President purported to have relied upon.
Read more https://ireport247news.com/2025/03/19/fubaras-suspension-unconstitutional-nba/