Tinubu’s State Of Emergency Prevented Fubara’s Impeachment – AGF

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.

Naija News reports that he stated that the move effectively halted the impeachment proceedings against the suspended Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.

Fagbemi, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, explained that the state of emergency prevented the Rivers State House of Assembly from following through with its impeachment process against Fubara and Odu, who were facing charges of “gross misconduct.”

The AGF stated that the declaration of the state of emergency by President Tinubu could be viewed as a strategic maneuver to stop the impending impeachment of the governor and his deputy.

Fagbemi emphasized that had the impeachment proceedings been allowed to continue, Fubara and Odu would have been removed from office, possibly for the remainder of their term.

“About compromise and replacement. It appears so. Don’t forget, I think yesterday (Tuesday), there was a notice of impeachment from the House of Assembly,” Fagbemi remarked.

He continued, “If that impeachment had been allowed to take its full course, then the governor would have lost entirely and completely. So, in a way, if you say it’s a compromise, I will agree that instead of allowing the impeachment process to continue, which in the end, would have seen both the governor and the deputy governor out of office and would have been out for the entirety of the four-year term with the remainder of what we have.”

Fagbemi defended the president’s decision, describing it as a “very bold” move to restore order in the state. He highlighted that Tinubu had thoroughly addressed the situation during his nationwide broadcast, providing a detailed account of the events leading to the declaration of a state of emergency.

“We were all there when he addressed the public and chronicled all the facts from Genesis to Revelation,” Fagbemi stated, reinforcing that the president had acted in the best interest of Rivers State and the nation at large.

The declaration of the state of emergency, which saw the suspension of Fubara, Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has sparked mixed reactions