Rita Odafe
The former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has expressed his opposition to the state of emergency declared in Rivers State.
He cautioned that this action could establish a troubling norm and infringe upon constitutional guidelines.
El-Rufai made these remarks on Monday during an address at the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) Law Week event, held by the Bwari Branch in Abuja.
He referenced the Uwais-led Supreme Court’s decisions from 2006 to 2007, which limited presidential authority during such emergencies, particularly in overturning the impeachments of former governors Joshua Dariye of Plateau and Peter Obi of Anambra.
“The Supreme Court under Uwais, between 2006 and 2007, fulfilled its role by nullifying the impeachments of Governors Joshua Dariye and Peter Obi while significantly curbing presidential powers when a ‘state of emergency’ is declared in any state across the Federation,” he stated.
The ex-governor also challenged the validity of the voice vote method employed by the National Assembly to sanction the emergency rule, contending that the constitution mandates a two-thirds majority from all members of each legislative chamber for such actions.
“The Kekere-Ekun court is now under scrutiny regarding the current president’s decision to displace elected officials owing to this emergency declaration. Many astute Nigerians are eager to understand if a two-thirds majority within the National Assembly can genuinely be established without a division and thorough count – merely through voice voting, as the chambers led by Akpabio and Abbas did with blatant disregard for reason,” he noted.
It is important to remember that both houses of the Nigerian National Assembly utilized voice votes to endorse President Bola Tinubu’s State of Emergency in Rivers State, despite a constitutional rule requiring a two-thirds majority vote from each chamber for such approval.
According to Section 305 (6b) of the Nigerian constitution, a presidentially declared emergency in any area of Nigeria needs to garner support from a “two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.”
Nevertheless, rather than conducting a formal roll-call vote to document each legislator’s position, both chambers chose a voice vote, a process where lawmakers simply declare “aye” or “nay,” and the presiding officer arbitrarily decides which side holds the majority.
El-Rufai called upon the NBA leadership to reflect on its practices and move away from complacency and unethical behavior.
“I must share something that might be uncomfortable but is essential. The NBA must conduct some self-reflection. We cannot expect integrity in our public affairs while allowing mediocrity or malpractice among ourselves. We cannot decry the decline of justice if we permit our internal governance bodies to be ineffective. We cannot insist on a fair electoral process while gaining from the issues that have tainted election disputes.”
