Former Sokoto State governor and currently a senator, Aminu Tambuwal, has picked holes in the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu declared state of emergency in Rivers and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, the Rivers Assembly for six months and appointed a retired Naval chief, Ibok-Ete Ibas, as the state’s sole administrator.

Following the development, many Nigerians, including politicians, civil society organisations and other groups have expressed different views on the legality or otherwise of such action.

Speaking to the Sunday Sun in Abuja, Tambuwal, also a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the action fell short of the provision of the constitution as the Senate did not garner the constitutional two-thirds majority of members required to approve it.

He said, “I will be speaking to you from the point of view of being a lawyer, a member of the Body of Benchers and a life Bencher for that matter and not necessarily as a lawmaker who is a member of the 10th Senate. And, in addition to that, possibly my experience as a former presiding officer, former Speaker of the House of Representatives who presided over a matter such as this in 2013.

“Section 305 of the Constitution is very clear. It is unambiguous, the language is very plain, of the Constitution as to first, how the president can declare a state of emergency and what is required of the legislature, the two chambers – both the Senate and the House of Representatives before passing such a resolution.

“What is required is that you must obtain and have two-thirds of all the members, of either of the two chambers, in support of the resolution.

“In the case of what happened in the Senate, where I belong, I don’t know whether members of your team, who are members of the press corps, had the privilege of checking the (Senate) register to see whether there were up to 72, 73 senators on the floor. From what I saw, there was no such number on the floor on that day.

“So, if you juxtapose that to the requirement of the Constitution which says that the Senate must have two-thirds of its members, all of its members to pass that resolution, in support of it, not just present and voting. No! Supporting it. It means that what was done fell short of the provision of the Constitution.”

The former Speaker further added that the parliament was supposed to be guided by the Constitution, its rules and its precedents.

He also recalled how the National Assembly had to garner quorum before state of emergency was declared in Plateau, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States under President Obasanjo and Jonathan.

“State of emergency was declared under President (Olusegun) Obasanjo…two thirds had to be garnered, in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“State of emergency was declared during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, in Borno State. Also in Adamawa and Yobe. We had to garner two thirds.

“So, what stops the current National Assembly from making reference to its own precedents that are domiciled within its own library, within its own records? I can’t understand that. So, it’s part of the problem,” he added.

Daily Trust