By Pascal Ibe
Speaking at the annual colloquium of the Haske Satumari Foundation on Saturday in Abuja, the former president of Nigeria, GoodLuck Jonathan said the state of emergency rule imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu was a clear abuse of power.
According to the former president, those in power know the right thing to do but are deliberately ignoring it.
Jonathan, who didn’t mention President Bola Tinubu directly, accused government officials of “clear abuse of offices, a clear abuse of power, and a clear abuse of privileges” across all three arms of government.
He also warned that the compromised state of Nigeria’s judiciary was scaring away investors and damaging the country’s international reputation.
Regarding this, an X user, @novieverest, claimed that Jonathan’s comment on emergency rule in Rivers State on Saturday was his first time criticizing a serving president since leaving office in 2015.
The X user posted the video of Jonathan’s speech and wrote, “This is the first time Goodluck Jonathan has openly criticized a president since he left Aso Rock in 2015.
“Tinubu truly messed up in River State.
The Judiciary and the legislature also messed up badly.
Many persons who commented aligned with the claim. The post also generated over 400k views, 5.3k reposts, and 12k likes, according to X analytics.
Background
President Tinubu had, on March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing the breakdown of governance as a result of the war of attrition between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state lawmakers, as well as attacks on oil facilities in the state.
Tinubu also suspended Fubara; his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly.
He thereafter swore in a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ette Ibas, as the state’s sole administrator.
The president relied on Section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to back his action.
Verification
In December 2018, Jonathan said his past administration had nothing to do with the failures of the Buhari-led government; he asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look elsewhere for who to blame.
The former president was reacting to a statement by Buhari’s aide, Garba Shehu, who blamed him(Jonathan) for the failure of Mr. Buhari to appoint ministers in the first six months of assuming power.
Jonathan said it is strange that the president is still looking for who to blame, three years after(2015—2018).
“One thing is as clear as daylight: The Jonathan administration has absolutely nothing to do with the failure of this government to appoint ministers early enough to inspire confidence in investors because it is obvious that handover notes from a predecessor do not contain the list of ministers for the incoming administration.”
Also, Jonathan said in 2017 that the Buhari-led administration is being run on lies and propaganda.
Verdict
The claim that Jonathan didn’t criticize a president until his recent comments on the emergency rule in Rivers State that was imposed by President Tinubu is FALSE.
