The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has stated that the National Assembly has the ultimate authority to determine whether Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, remains suspended following President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
Addressing the ongoing political crisis, Fagbemi stressed that the suspension of Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly must be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly before it can take full effect.
“The ball is now in the court of the National Assembly,” he stated.
“If they do not ratify it, the suspensions will not stand.”
Defending Tinubu’s decision to declare emergency rule, the AGF alleged that Governor Fubara failed to prevent attacks in the state and, in some ways, had indirectly encouraged violent elements.
“He initially suggested that he would let them know when it was time to act. Even if we assume that was just rhetoric, did he come out to disown them when they took action? The answer is no. And barely a week after, we saw the vandalization of oil pipelines,” Fagbemi asserted.
On Tuesday, President Tinubu announced a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Fubara, his deputy, and all elected state lawmakers for an initial period of six months.