Prominent activist and human rights lawyer, Comrade Deji Adeyanju, has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to remove Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State via a press broadcast, calling it an unconstitutional overreach and a move reminiscent of dictatorship.

In a statement on social media, Adeyanju criticized Tinubu for bypassing constitutional processes and using military force to eject a democratically elected governor from office.

“President Tinubu cannot remove an elected state governor or members of a state house of assembly by a press broadcast as he has no such powers.

“He acted like a dictator by doing so & now using the military to eject a democratically elected governor from govt house is even worse,” Adeyanju stated.

Adeyanju said the Nigerian Constitution stipulates that a governor can only be removed through impeachment by the State House of Assembly, resignation, death, or the completion of tenure.

He added that the president has no legal authority to unilaterally depose a sitting governor.

According to him, if unchecked, the action could embolden future administrations to sideline elected officials arbitrarily.