The Senate on Thursday approved the emergency rule proclaimed by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State and the six-month suspension of the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the state house of assembly.

The approval was given during a closed-door meeting of lawmakers after Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter on the controversial order transmitted to the Senate by Mr Tinubu.

The meeting was hinged on a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele pursuant to Order 135 of the Senate rules and was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro.

The upper legislative chamber’s approval came after the House of Representatives also voted in support of the proclamation via voice note during plenary on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Peoples Gazette earlier reported on Thursday that the president’s allies paid cash bribes to lawmakers to pass the controversial proclamation which many opposition political leaders had condemned as unconstitutional. 

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, ex-governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, among some other opposition figures on Thursday rejected the proclamation, describing it as unconstitutional.     

Also, some lawyers including the Nigerian Bar Association faulted the President’s suspension of the governor, stating that it lacked the power to do so under the 1999 Constitution.     

Speaking through its President, Afam Osigwe, the NBA stated that Section 305 of the Constitution vested the president with the power to declare a state of emergency.

It noted, “The section stipulates strict conditions and procedural safeguards that must be followed to ensure that such extraordinary measures do not infringe on democratic governance and fundamental human rights. The NBA is gravely concerned about the purported suspension by the president of the governor of Rivers State, the deputy governor, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months. The 1999 Constitution does not grant the president the power to remove an elected governor, deputy governor, or members of a state’s legislature under the guise of a state of emergency. Rather, the Constitution provides clear procedures for the removal of a governor and deputy governor as per Section 188.’’

The association noted that a declaration of emergency does not automatically dissolve or suspend elected state governments.