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The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has faulted President Goodluck Jonathan’s stance on the judiciary in his criticism of the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers state
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG described it as an unnecessary and unwarranted attack on the judiciary.
It said: “We concede that like all Nigerians, former President Goodluck Jonathan has every right to express his thoughts on the President’s proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers State, but we are taken aback by his innuendo on the judiciary.
“His allegation that government functionaries were compromising the judiciary is a grave one because of the impression he created of a judiciary that is neither autonomous nor independent.
“We see it as an uncharitable comment especially as it is tied to President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare emergency rule and suspend democratic institutions in the state.
“We honestly wonder where the former President was when the executive and legislature were engaged in a war of attrition that was threatening to extend to the streets of Port Harcourt and the creeks?
“We are aware that President Tinubu made two attempts to intervene in the issue, including getting Governor Sim Fubara and the House of Assembly leadership to sign a peace deal in the presence of key political stakeholders.
“There is, however, no record of any attempt from former President Jonathan as a respected elder statesman to intervene at any point in the last year, only for us to see him jumping into the fray with a condemnation of the President and a scathing remark about the judiciary.
“If our respected former President had taken the pain to read the ruling of the Supreme Court on the Rivers situation, he would have noticed the apex court’s position on the absence of governance in the state as a result of the recalcitrance of both sides.
“Even after the President had encouraged the Governor and the lawmakers to abide by the court ruling, there was no sign that both sides were prepared to work together so we wondered what Jonathan expected Tinubu to do. What would he have done if he were in the president’s position?
“Should he have declined to declare a state of emergency and left the warring parties in place to continue to stoke the embers of tension rather than take proactive steps to protect critical national infrastructure and the lives of the residents of the state?
“We dare say that President Tinubu acted in the national interest by suspending the democratic institutions for six months in line with his powers to proclaim emergency rule.
“And like a former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), J.B. Daudu said, the fact that the former President did not suspend democratic institutions when he imposed an Emergency rule in three North East states in 2023 for 18 months does not mean another President would toe a similar path.”
TMSG also expressed hope that former President Jonathan would use his clout as the only Niger Deltan to have held the position of president to contribute to mediatory efforts in Rivers state in the next six months
