Former Vice President and 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is set to lead a coalition of political leaders in a press conference today at 10:00 AM at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
The conference will address President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Atiku’s special adviser on broadcast media, Abdul Rasheed Shehu, disclosed this on his X handle.
In a national broadcast on Tuesday evening, President Tinubu announced the suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months. He also appointed retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd.), as the sole administrator of the state.
The decision has sparked controversy, with legal experts and political analysts arguing that the Nigerian Constitution does not give the president the power to remove an elected governor through an emergency declaration.
For the proclamation to be legally binding, the National Assembly must ratify it. However, both the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to debate the matter on Wednesday.
A two-thirds majority approval in both chambers is required today for Tinubu’s decision to take effect.