Former President Goodluck Jonathan has strongly criticised the handling of the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, accusing the executive, legislature, and judiciary of abusing their powers.
Speaking on Saturday at the annual colloquium organised by the Haske Satumari Foundation in Abuja, Jonathan expressed concern over the state of emergency declared in Rivers State and the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state’s House of Assembly.
Okay.ng reports that President Bola Tinubu declared the state of emergency on March 18, citing political and security instability. The National Assembly subsequently ratified the decision through a voice vote, further intensifying the controversy surrounding the development.
Jonathan, while addressing the audience, explained why he had been reluctant to comment publicly on the matter but stressed that the actions taken by Nigeria’s leadership were deeply troubling.
“As a former president and also from the Niger Delta, when the issue of suspending the governor of Rivers State came up, I think people called on me, President Jonathan and ex-President Obasanjo to say something,” he said.
“People expected us to say something about what was happening. But traditionally, all over the world, former presidents hardly make statements about what the current presidents are doing because of the tension it could create in the country.”
However, Jonathan drew an analogy, likening the situation to an Indian proverb:
“What is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in Rivers State is like an Indian proverb that says: ‘If somebody is sleeping, really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person. But if that person is pretending to sleep, you (will) find it difficult to wake up that person’.”
He accused the executive, legislature, and judiciary of knowing the right course of action but deliberately choosing to ignore it.
“The key actors in Nigeria, from the executive to the legislature, judiciary and the Senate and the judiciary… they know the correct thing to do. But they are refusing to do it,” Jonathan asserted.
“They are pretending to sleep and waking such a person is extremely difficult because the person knows the right thing. A clear abuse of office and clear abuse of power cutting across from the three arms of government — from the executive to the parliament and the judiciary.”
Jonathan also issued a warning about the lasting consequences of abuse of power, urging those in positions of authority to recognise their collective responsibility in governance.
Okay.ng reports that the former president’s comments come amid growing concerns over the erosion of democratic principles in Nigeria, particularly in the Rivers State crisis, which has attracted widespread criticism from stakeholders across the country.
