Engineer Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State has condemned in strong terms the declaration of state of emergency in River State.
It was reported that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a declaration of a state of emergency in the south-south state and also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, and members of the state house of assembly for an initial six month.
Governor Makinde noted that the suspension of suspension of democracy in the state through the declaration of a state of emergency is an act of illegality which must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. He made this statement in his biweekly newsletter, The Business of Governance Issue 110, which was released on Thursday evening.
The governor said, “I stand today to say that the declaration of the state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of the executive and legislative arms of government by the presidency is an illegality that right-thinking members of society must oppose.
“Our democratic tenets must never be trifled with, no matter our personal feelings and loyalties. This is the time to take a stand for fairness, equity and justice.
“As our democracy grows and unfolds, we must also be willing to speak up when we see anything that threatens our development as a nation. We must choose to stand up for what is right, even if it means standing alone.
“I am glad that our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, is demonstrating the needed strength and leadership. Yesterday (Wednesday), the PDP Governors’ Forum rose from an emergency meeting where we unanimously decided to challenge the actions of President Tinubu in a Court of competent jurisdiction. We cannot fold our hands and watch the democracy we built for almost three decades be trampled upon.”
