The presidency has slammed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his comment on the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Naijaonpoint reports that President Bola Tinubu had in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu for six months, while declaring a state of emergency.
Reacting in a statement on Tuesday night, Atiku described Tinubu’s declaration as disgraceful.
He said Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent in Rivers State.
Atiku said: “The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith.
“Anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers. His blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful.”
In response, the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Olusegun Dada, berated Atiku over his comment, stating that President Tinubu acted within his power as enshrined in Section 305 of the 1999 constitution.
Tinubu’s aide also reminded the former Vice President how he and his former principal, Olusegun Obasanjo, exercised their power to declare a state of emergency in Ekiti and Plateau states.
Dada added that Atiku, as an elder statesman, should know when to separate emotion from logic.
He wrote, “Alhaji calm down. Mr President acted within his powers as enshrined in Section 305 of the 1999 constitution the same way you and your boss exercised your powers to declare a state of emergency in Ekiti, Plateau. As an elder stateman should know when to separate emotions from logic”