The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday declared President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and his suspension of the democratically elected governor, deputy governor, and members of the state’s House of Assembly as an undemocratic action that is also alien to Nigeria’s Constitution.

The President, in his nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, announced the state of emergency and his decision to replace the democratically constituted governance structures with a sole administrator as a gross violation of Nigeria’s Constitution.

In a statement released on Sunday, marked “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Unconstitutional Action in Rivers State: A Direct Assault on Democracy and the Rule of Law,” Senator Adolphus Wabara, the PDP BoT Chairman, stated that Nigeria’s Constitution is the foundational legal document that guarantees the rights of Nigerians to participate in the democratic process.

He asserted, “In my capacity as the Chairman of the BoT of our great party, the PDP, and a former Senate President, I, Senator Adolphus Wabara, call for the reversal of this assault on our democracy.

“It’s sad and disheartening that Mr. President ignored my earlier advice to disregard those calling for emergency rule in Rivers State. I had also advised him not to lean towards those attempting to hijack power through the back door in Rivers State. I had then sought his intervention as the father of the nation because the political crisis in Rivers State, if mismanaged, is capable of plunging the entire country into needless political turmoil.”

According to him, President Tinubu’s action only reminded Nigerians of the better-forgotten era of military dictatorship and asked if it could be a mere coincidence that the day the PDP National Secretariat land in Abuja was revoked by the APC-led administration was the same day the Governor of Rivers State was served an impeachment notice.

Pointing out that Nigeria’s Constitution, under Section 7(1), mandates that each state shall have a government formed through the democratic process of elections, Wabara further stated that the people of Rivers State exercised their democratic rights in electing their leaders, including the State Governor, Deputy Governor, and Members of the House of Assembly. These officials, he emphasized, were not appointed by the President or any other authority but were chosen by the people to represent their interests.

He posited that while the President, under Section 305 of the Constitution, is vested with the power to declare a state of emergency, such power is not without limits.

He said, “Though the President can only declare a state of emergency in specific circumstances such as war, insurrection, or other situations that threaten the integrity of the nation, the situation in Rivers State does not meet the constitutional criteria for such a declaration.”

Positing that the absence of any pressing national emergency renders the President’s decision not only unwarranted but also an abuse of power, the PDP BoT Chairman held that the declaration of emergency does not automatically dissolve or suspend elected state governments.

He added, “The Constitution does not empower the President to unilaterally remove or replace elected officials, as such actions amount to an unconstitutional usurpation of power and a fundamental breach of Nigeria’s federal structure.”

According to Wabara, the president’s decision to replace democratically elected officials with an unelected Sole Administrator is nothing short of a democratic travesty.

“It is a stark reminder of the fragility of our democratic institutions and the persistence of authoritarian tendencies by the President. By dissolving the elected government of Rivers State, the President has effectively denied the people their right to be governed by officials of their choosing. This move is not just unconstitutional; it is a blatant effort to subvert democracy and install unelected officials who are more likely to be subservient to executive power than representatives of the people.”

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He described it as a surprise that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who condemned President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 for proclaiming a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States—then ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents—could declare a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspend the democratically elected government unprovoked.

He said, “This is nothing short of hypocrisy and a well-orchestrated plan to hijack power from the Rivers State Governor in the accomplishment of his 2027 presidential ambition. This is a veiled plot for APC to take over Rivers State.

“In a democracy, power belongs to the people, not to the whims of the executive. When the people of Rivers State chose their representatives, they entrusted them with the responsibility to govern according to their wishes and in accordance with the Constitution. The President’s action has upended that process and deprived the citizens of Rivers State of their constitutional right to self-governance. This is a dangerous precedent that could be replicated in other states across the country, and it is one that all Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, should reject.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was hypocritical, deceptive, and playing to the gallery when he said in his nationwide broadcast that he made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but his efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. Can he deny that his allies are part of the political crisis rocking Rivers State? Why did he, in his hypocritical broadcast, fail to call them to order or blame them the way he blamed Gov. Fubara? It’s only obvious that Mr. President tactfully shielded those acting out his script for the unconstitutional takeover of power in Rivers State.”

Wabara recalled the President’s nationwide broadcast in which he claimed that the latest security reports showed disturbing incidents of pipeline vandalism by some militants without the Governor taking any action, as if the Governor was the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR) or the Chief of Defense Staff.

Citing another disturbing aspect of President Tinubu’s statement that “the Administrator will not make any new laws but will be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state,” Wabara described it as “a dangerous overreach and a terrible precedent.”

He asserted that the struggle over control of Rivers’ resources is the genesis of the political crisis, stating that those who see Gov. Fubara as an obstacle to their unfettered access to the state’s treasury have been pushing to remove him at all costs.

According to Wabara, the BoT of PDP was further devastated by the provocative process adopted by the National Assembly in ratifying the action of Mr. President. Approving a state of emergency via a voice vote instead of the constitutional two-thirds majority is another travesty of justice, legislative rascality, and a rape of democracy.

He urged the National Assembly to rise to the occasion and engage with the President to find a political and lasting solution to the crisis through the Doctrine of Necessity.

He said members of the PDP Board of Trustees join the PDP Governors Forum and the NWC in standing in solidarity with Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the people of Rivers State during this trying time in the state’s political history.