The National President of the Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative (IPDI), Comrade Austin Ozobo, has criticised the recent lifting of emergency rule in Rivers State and the return of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to office, declaring that “there is nothing new to be celebrated.”

 

Speaking to journalists in Warri, Delta State, on Thursday, Ozobo condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s earlier suspension of the governor, his deputy, and the state legislature as “illegal, undemocratic and unconstitutional.”

 

“Actually we are not celebrating it; there is nothing new to be celebrated,” Ozobo stated. “As a civilian president, he (Tinubu) does not have the constitutional right to suspend a democratically elected governor.”

 

The activist warned that Tinubu’s action sets a dangerous precedent that could destabilise Nigeria’s democracy if repeated. “We are just advising Mr. President to stop all this lawlessness because what he has done could set a bad precedence and it could cause tension if not for the fact that the youths of that state were able to calm themselves down,” he said.

 

Describing the president’s conduct as “barbaric and unlawful,” Ozobo urged the federal government to desist from such actions in the future. “It is a bad precedence he has set and we are advising him to desist from such in the future because his actions are barbaric and unlawful,” he stressed.

 

Rivers State was placed under emergency rule on March 18 following a bitter political dispute between Governor Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who is also the governor’s predecessor. The crisis, marked by heightened tensions and factional conflicts, prompted Tinubu to suspend Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly for six months while appointing Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as sole administrator.

 

On Wednesday, the president lifted the emergency rule and restored all democratic structures, allowing Fubara to resume office. But according to the IPDI president, the governor’s reinstatement is not an achievement to applaud because the suspension itself was unlawful.

 

Ozobo’s remarks reflect growing concerns among civil society groups and political observers over the use of federal emergency powers and the implications for Nigeria’s constitutional democracy. He maintained that only strict adherence to the rule of law can safeguard the nation’s political stability and protect democratic institutions.