The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Bola Tinubu of exceeding his constitutional powers during the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara under the Rivers State emergency rule, insisting that the President owes Nigerians an apology.
Speaking on Wednesday, PDP’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, strongly criticized President Tinubu’s handling of the Rivers crisis. He argued that the President overstepped his constitutional boundaries by suspending an elected governor, an action he described as “a dangerous precedent” for Nigeria’s democracy.
This reaction came shortly after President Tinubu declared an end to the emergency rule in Rivers State and directed Governor Fubara to resume duties on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
Osadolor faulted the President’s tone, likening it to that of “a headmaster addressing pupils,” and accused him of undermining the separation of powers enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
“Yes, I think the President was overreaching. When I read the last paragraph of his speech, where he spoke to governors as if he were a headmaster in a classroom, I felt he should understand fully well that there is a clear division of powers,” Osadolor said.
The PDP youth leader warned that if the President could suspend elected governors, then there would be no effective checks on presidential authority. He added that Tinubu should have publicly apologized to Nigerians for breaching constitutional order.
Osadolor also accused the National Assembly of complicity, alleging lawmakers were financially induced to endorse what he described as “an abnormal and unconstitutional process.”
He called for legislation to prevent any repeat of such presidential overreach and insisted that Nigeria must strengthen institutions to protect the rule of law.
“No President, no matter how powerful or how emotionally motivated, should use the authority of his office to rip apart the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he declared.
The PDP chieftain further condemned Tinubu’s language towards governors and stakeholders, saying he sounded “like a military commander” rather than a democratic leader.
He emphasized that the Constitution gives only the National Assembly the authority to suspend or remove a governor, not the President.
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