Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, who represents Bayelsa West in the National Assembly, has strongly criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for failing to address the ongoing emergency rule in Rivers State during his Democracy Day address to a joint session of the National Assembly.
Speaking with journalists after the session, Dickson said President Tinubu missed a golden opportunity to demonstrate genuine democratic leadership by not using the occasion of June 12, Nigeria’s Democracy Day, to restore constitutional rule in Rivers State.
“You cannot claim to be a democrat on one hand while trampling democracy underfoot on the other,” Dickson declared. “The President missed a golden opportunity today to strengthen democracy by restoring constitutional rule in Rivers State.”
Describing the President’s silence on the issue as “deafening,” the former Bayelsa governor said June 12 should be a moment to celebrate freedom, accountability, and respect for the rule of law, not to ignore blatant suppression of democratic rights.
“This is not about Governor Fubara’s origin or party affiliation, if he even has one,” Dickson said. “People switch parties so frequently now that it’s hard to tell. This is about the people of Rivers State, their democratic rights, and the sanctity of our Constitution.”
The senator accused President Tinubu of pandering to political interests and setting a dangerous precedent. “What happens today in Rivers could happen tomorrow in Lagos or Kano. No one holds power forever. If we allow this, what stops a future president from declaring a state of emergency in any state, sacking duly elected officials, appointing administrators, and running the state from Abuja?”
President Tinubu had on March 18 declared emergency rule in Rivers State, dissolving the elected government and suspending democratic institutions. He subsequently appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator for an initial six-month period. The move, ratified by both chambers of the National Assembly on March 20 via a voice vote, has drawn widespread backlash.
“If you have a military administration in the midst of a democracy, how can you celebrate Democracy Day without addressing it?” Dickson queried. “That tells you how far the APC has reduced Nigeria’s democracy.”
While he acknowledged that President Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech was “flowery” and “otherwise impressive,” Dickson insisted that “words don’t show democratic commitment, actions do.”
“You cannot be celebrating democracy, flaunting yourself as a democrat, and at the same time be trampling on democracy under your presidential foot,” he added.
He stressed that many Nigerians had expected the President to announce the lifting of the Rivers State emergency rule on June 12, a day symbolic of Nigeria’s democratic struggles and aspirations.
“As long as any part of Nigeria is under military rule, democracy is endangered in Nigeria as a whole,” Dickson warned, calling on all arms of government to recommit to protecting democratic institutions and upholding the constitutional rights of all citizens.
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