Legal luminary and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Joseph Bodurin Daudu, has thrown his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

Daudu asserts that the President’s authority to take over the administration of the state is well within constitutional bounds.

In a detailed legal analysis, Daudu dismissed concerns about the legality of suspending the executive and legislative arms of government in an emergency-affected state. He noted that no Nigerian court has ruled such actions unconstitutional, citing past legal challenges in Plateau State in 2004 and 2006, which were decided on the issue of locus standi rather than the constitutionality of emergency rule itself.

Daudu justified the removal of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara from office, stating that a governor complicit in plunging a state into disorder cannot be expected to restore order.

He explained that emergency rule places the affected state under the direct control of the federal government through the President’s appointed sole administrator.

On the suspension of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Daudu clarified that during an emergency, only the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to legislate for the state.

He also dismissed claims that Fubara’s suspension was unprecedented, citing former President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of emergency rule in 2014.