Coalition petitions Ecowas, drags Tinubu over state of emergency

A Nigerian pro-democracy coalition under aegis of Concerned Nigerians in Defence of Democratic Governance, has petitioned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), urging urgent intervention over what it describes as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s moves to undermine democracy in the country.

It was reacting to the recent development in Rivers State, arguing that the move was unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent for democratic governance in Nigeria and the broader West African region.

In a letter addressed to ECOWAS Commission President, Omar Alieu Touray, the coalition expressed concerns over the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, which led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The petition jointly signed by Comrade Aliyu Tanko, Bello Adamu, Nnamdi Ekwueme, Nicholas Upelle, Sadiq Alao and Oche Oche, was also addressed to the High Commissioners of Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

“This has implications for how the West African subregion will fare in the future. Permit us to point out that the political crises that led to the formation of the Alliance of Shahelian States (AES) and the subsequent exit of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) did not emanate at the national levels of these nation-states; the crises began as issues at the subnational levels of these countries before escalating to national challenges that provoked military interventions.

“At the core of the disintegration, staring ECOWAS in the face is the serial injustices that national governments unleash on the constituent units of each nation. The sub-region has looked to Nigeria to play a pivotal role in managing the fallouts of the political situation created by this ugly development”, they said.

The activists said President Tinubu’s decision seemed to have been politically motivated, and may intimidate other state governors. “We are writing to alert ECOWAS that President Tinubu’s truncation of democratic governance in Rivers State through the unconstitutional imposition of a state of emergency has grave implications for the West Africa sub-region”, they added.