The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won’t keep the state of emergency in Rivers State longer than necessary, assuring that it would be lifted as soon as normalcy is restored.
The minister stated this in an interview with The Nation.
“As soon as he assesses that sanity has returned to Rivers State, he will ensure the restoration of all democratic structures in that state.
“The President will not wait a minute longer than necessary.
“The President has no intention whatsoever to take over the governance of Rivers State. He has no intention to be or to appoint a governor for Rivers State,” he said.
Idris defended the President’s decision, describing it as “a very responsible but very painful” action taken in line with constitutional provisions.
According to him, governance in Rivers State had completely broken down, with the House of Assembly non-functional and the executive arm facing serious challenges.
“The way democracy is designed in this country is that the three arms of government must work together, and one will be checking the other. So, we cannot have just the executive functioning and say we have a functional democracy. We didn’t have that, and therefore, the President had to act,” he explained.
The minister maintained that the President acted within his constitutional powers to prevent the state from descending further into violence and lawlessness.
“Those who designed our constitution envisaged that this kind of situation could arise, and that was why they made the provision for it. The President relied on the constitution to exercise his powers and take action.”
