In a recent statement, prominent Nigerian actor and politician Kenneth Okonkwo has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, which he claims unlawfully removes the elected Governor and House of Assembly members from office for six months. Okonkwo asserts that the removal of the elected officials is not only illegal but unconstitutional, arguing that a state of emergency should not involve the removal of elected representatives.
Okonkwo pointed to a past instance under former President Jonathan, where a state of emergency was declared in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states to address the Boko Haram insurgency, yet no elected officials were removed from office. He emphasized that the security situation in Rivers, a responsibility of the Federal Government, should not be used as a pretext for such drastic measures, calling the removal of elected officials a “power grab” by the President aimed at wresting control of Rivers State from the opposition party.
The actor-turned-politician also questioned why President Tinubu had not extended similar measures to members of his own cabinet, who, according to Okonkwo, are also implicated in the crisis in Rivers State. He further accused the President of supporting an undemocratic act, undermining Nigeria’s democratic system, and urged the National Assembly to reject the President’s actions.
Okonkwo described the crisis in Rivers as a power struggle among state “looters” against a Governor who refused to yield control of the state’s finances, claiming the President’s involvement was an attempt to remove him through indirect means.
The call to action from Okonkwo is clear: He urges all democratic forces in Nigeria to rise against what he perceives as an undemocratic and illegal act.
