Nollywood actor cum politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has described the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State as illegal and unconstitutional.
Naijaonpoint reports that President Bola Tinubu had, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu for six months while declaring a state of emergency.
Reacting via a statement shared on his 𝕏, Okonkwo recalled that former President, Goodluck Jonathan, declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states to tackle the Boko Haram terrorists and did not remove the state Governors and others from office.
The thespian also stated that Tinubu blaming Fubara for the security failures of the Federal Government in Rivers is misplaced, stressing that if Tinubu meant to punish every party to the crisis, he should have extended the punishment to some members of his cabinet that are parties to the crisis.
Kenneth Okonkwo maintained that the latest development in Rivers is a power grab by Tinubu to take away Rivers State from the opposition party and the people of Rivers State and hand it over to his stooges in his cabinet.
The statement reads, “The removal of the elected Governor and House of Assembly members of Rivers State for six months in Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is illegal and unconstitutional.
“State of emergency, when declared, simply means the suspension of some fundamental rights of citizens to enable the government to restore order in a state of anarchy. It does not involve the removal of elected representatives of the people.
“President Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa in order to tackle the Bokoharam terrorists and did not remove Gov Shettima and others from office.
“Security of Nigeria is the exclusive reserve of the Federal Government, which controls all the security forces. The Governor has no police to command. Blaming the Governor for the security failures of the Federal Government in Rivers is misplaced.
“This measure is a power grab by the President to take away Rivers State from the opposition party and from the people of Rivers State and hand it over to his stooges in his cabinet. If Tinubu meant to punish every party to the crisis, why did he not extend the punishment to some members of his cabinet that are parties to the crisis.
“It is in this regard that I urge the National Assembly to reject this illegal removal of the elected representatives of Rivers State and declare it undemocratic.
“There’s nothing extra ordinary with what is happening in Rivers State. There is a gang up of state looters against a Governor who refused to give them the key to the purse of Rivers State. They have been trying to remove him without success because of the support of Rivers people for their Governor necessitating the President trying to remove him through the back door.
“It’s unfortunate that a sitting President will assist in unravelling our democracy. All democratic forces must rise up against this undemocratic act.”