By Joseph Peterside
Former President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, blaming it as a clear abuse of power by the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
He made this assertion at the annual colloquium organised by the Haske Satumari Foundation in Abuja on Saturday.
The former president said several people had contacted him for comments over the political crisis shortly after Mr Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspended the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and state assembly members for six months.
Mr Jonathan, who said it was unusual for former presidents to comment on the policies and actions of successors to avoid tension, however, likened the development to an Indian proverb and accused political actors of knowing what to do but intentionally failing to do it.
“What is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in Rivers State is like an Indian proverb that says that if somebody is sleeping, really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person, but if that person is pretending to sleep, you find it difficult to wake up that person,” Mr Jonathan said.
