MIRIAM NNOLI 
The Coalition of Opposition Political Leaders led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachair Lawal, and some leaders of the Labour Party (LP) have jointly rejected the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
New Telegraph recalls that President Bola Tinubu had during a national broadcast on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following the political crisis in the oil-rich state.
President Tinubu also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara; his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months.
However, during a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the coalition said President Tinubu’s action is unconstitutional.
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The coalition argued that the section of the Constitution that the president relied upon to declare a state of emergency in Rivers was wrongly applied.
They asked for the immediate reversal of the action. It also called on the National Assembly to reject the declaration and the judiciary to swiftly intervene by striking down the move.
The coalition urged Nigerians not to forget the historic unrest in the Niger Delta, which was only managed by the efforts and sacrifices of past administrations.
The group called on the Federal Government not to “manufacture” a political crisis that could threaten the fragile stability in the Niger Delta.
