Former Nigeria President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has reacted to the declaration of state of emergency, partial military rule in Rivers State and the suspension of the Governor of the State, Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly lawmakers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom, Jonathan accused of abuse of office, power and privileges – with the former President saying that the Presidency led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, NASS led by both Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President and the National Judicial Council, NJC led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun know the right thing to do but they refused to it, citing an Indian proverbs that says; when a person is really sleeping, it is easy to wake up such a person, but, when a person is pretending to be sleeping, it is very difficult to wake up such a person, and thereafter, categorically stated that the three arms of government in Nigeria are pretending to be sleeping, with emphasis that no business investor brings his or her money to invest in a country where the Executive dictates for Judges what the Judgement should be.

The former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who once as the President of Nigeria declared a state of emergency in some Northern states without suspending civil rule or allowing the military to takeover the governance of the states, stated this while speaking as the Chairman at the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium in Abuja on Saturday.

“These actions by key actors in the executive and legislative arms of government paint the country in a negative light,” Jonathan said.

Jonathan said although it is not the norm for former presidents to comment on issues in the polity so as not to heat up the polity, he insisted that the image of the country and how much investments a country attracts is heavily dependent on the actions of the executive, legislature and judiciary of the country.

According to him, his comment was necessitated by persistent calls from many Nigerians to speak on the events in Rivers State as a prominent son of the Niger Delta.

The former Nigerian leader said, “We’re talking about building a society where no one is oppressed, as reflected in the top paragraph of our national anthem. As a former president, and also from the Niger Delta, when the issue of suspending the governor came out, I think people called on me, ‘President Jonathan you should say something.’

“What is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in Rivers states is like an Indian proverb that said that if somebody is sleeping, really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person. But if that person is pretending to sleep, you find it difficult to wake up that person. The key actors in Nigeria, from executives to the legislature, and the judiciary, they know the correct thing to do, but they are refusing to do it. They are pretending to sleep.

“Waking such a person is extremely difficult, but the person knows the right thing. The clear abuse of offices, clear abuse of power, clear abuse of privileges, cutting across from the three arms of government, from the executive to the parliament to the judiciary. And I always plead with our people that whatever we do affects everybody.

“No businessman can bring his money to invest in a country where the judiciary is compromised, where a government functionary can dictate to judges what judgment they will give. No man brings his money to invest in that economy because we are taking a big risk. So whatever we do affects everybody.

And if we want to build a nation where our children and our grandchildren, no matter how painful it is, we must strive to do what is right. It may cost us, but we must endeavour and pay the price to insist on doing what is right.

Whether you are holding an executive office as a president, a minister, governor, or special advisor, executive, whether you are holding an office in the parliament, Senate, or Rep, whether you are a judicial officer in high courts or appellate courts, we must strive to do what is right.

“If we want to build a nation that our children will be proud of. As we engage in these discussions, let us remember that promoting social change is not a one-time event, but a continuous process. It requires a sustained commitment, collective action, and unwavering dedication to the values that promote good governance”, Former Nigeria President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s words end in quotes.

We had reported that the Rivers State’s partial military ruler, a retired Vice Admiral and former Nigeria Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas on Thursday evening made his maiden statewide broadcast, calling on any trouble makers apparently speaking directly to the militants who have been linked to the destruction and bombing of crude oil pipelines in the state, to desist from such act henceforth because his government as appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a Sole Administrator in Rivers State and approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the National Assembly on Thursday, has no patient to act against any action that threatened the peace, social and economic stability of the oil rich Rivers State, this, former Presidential Spokesperson on new media, Bashir Ahmad revealed that it was under the leadership of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 that the National Assembly repealed and enacted a new law that gave the President the powers to suspend an elected sitting governor and lawmakers in the State House of Assembly, but, by Nigeria legal system, the Acts enacted by the National Assembly automatically becomes noid and void when the Acts or laws enacted by the National Assembly contradicted or violated any session of the Nigeria 1999 Constitution as amended.

We had reported that the Nigeria Lawmakers in the lower chamber of the House of Representatives have approved the proclamation and declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, along with the six-month suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the assembly, as announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday night.

We had reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aide, Nyesom Wike who is the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and the immediate past Governor of Rivers State that is widely believed to be the apparent root cause of the political crisis in the state – who, shortly after the swearing-in of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Wike helped to the seat of power, was accused by the sitting Governor, Siminalayi Fubara of trying to use the State House of Assembly to frustrate and impeach him from office, simply because, he, Fubara refused to accept certain terms and conditions they both had in private, which, till now, both refused to tell the public the apparent personal political misunderstandings that made the Governor, Fubara to resort to self defence by thus applying some measures within his powers as the Governor to frustrate and stop his impeachment from the probably instigated Rivers State House of Assembly lawmakers whose majority of them, up to 27 members are seemly loyal to the FCT Minister, who – Wike, a few days ago, was the person that announced through the media to the general public that if an Ijaw son, Siminalayi Fubara is impeached, nothing would happened, a statement he made, suggesting he may have conspired with the lawmakers to impeach the governor; because by his statements during the press conference, he was probably already doing damage control even when the House of Assembly has not served the governor – an impeachment notice, but, in the face of the foregoing facts, the Nigeria Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi at a press briefing a few hours ago at the State House in Abuja, exonerated the FCT MInister and said categorically that the FCT Minister has no hand in the political crisis that has engulfed the oil rich Rivers State, leading to militants bombing crude oil pipelines to destroy Nigeria economy probably as a way of protesting against the Federal Government seemly one sided style of handling misunderstandings in the state.

We had reported that two female lawmakers, Marie Ebikake, PDP, Bayelsa State and Blessing Amadi, PDP, Rivers State on Wednesday engaged in a heated argument almost leading to a fight at the National Assembly ahead of the plenary session scheduled by the National Assembly leadership to discuss – approve or reject the Proclamation of State of Emergency declared on Tuesday night by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the apparent personal political crisis between the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and Tinubu’s aid, Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister and the immediate past Governor of the South South State.

We had reported that the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, both of whom were co contestants as presidential candidates in the last presidential election in Nigeria have reacted to the state of emergency and suspension of elected government in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with Atiku accusing and describing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers State.

We had reported that the Nigeria President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday evening, for the first time more than a decade in the history of the West Africa country, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended for initial six months, the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, all elected members of the State House of Assembly, and appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Administrator to work with the existing laws of Rivers State with the members of the state Judiciary following the apparent personal political crisis between the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his former boss and the immediate past Governor of the state, Nyesom Wike who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT that was seen a few days ago in a viral video apparently making carless statements as a government official – statements capable of instigating a particular ethnic group against the government wherein the FCT Minister has said thus, that, Ijaw people are minority group in the South South and if their son, Fubara is impeached, nothing would happened, after the statements, Wike refused to apologize to the Ijaw people despite public outcry and condemnations, days after as confirmed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some militants started destroying crude oil pipelines in Rivers State as media reports trends and indicated that Pro-Wike lawmakers may have concluded plans to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Osazuwa Akonedo

Osazuwa Akonedo is a Nigerian media professional, author, and consultant. His work spans various sectors of communication and literature: Journalism and Media: He is the founder of OsazuwaAkonedo, which focuses on news analysis and commentary. He also provides consultancy services in media and banking. Literature: He is a published playwright and author of Nigerian literature. One of his notable works is the drama titled The End Shall Tell: What Exam Malpractice Can Cause, which addresses educational and social issues in Nigeria. Reporting: He frequently reports on regional news, particularly concerning Edo State and broader Nigerian current affairs. Credit: Google Gemini AI Mode Osazuwa Akonedo is a Nigerian media creator, journalist, and entrepreneur who engages audiences via news reporting, social media content, music, and a mobile application. Professional Background and Company Osazuwa Akonedo is associated with OSAZUWAAKONEDO LIMITED, a company registered in Nigeria that operates in media consultancy and news services  The company is headquartered in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, and has been active in publishing news in various formats including text, audio, video, and photos  Social Media and Online Platforms Osazuwa Akonedo maintains a strong online presence on several platforms: TikTok: Shares news updates and reports, for example, covering police operations in Nigeria  YouTube: Operates a channel where he uploads videos on current affairs and news content  Twitter/X: Active under the handle @akonedo_osazuwa, posting updates on events and news  Facebook: Profiles listing his connection to news and media activities can be found on Facebook  Mobile App: Offers a dedicated mobile application for news access through Google Play (Osazuwa Akonedo News App) providing text, video, and photo news formats  News Reporting and Content He produces news content covering national and local stories, including criminal activities, government updates, and investigative reports   His reporting spans multiple formats, making it accessible to a wide audience through online platforms, mobile apps, and social media  Other Contributions In addition to journalism, Osazuwa Akonedo has also ventured into audio releases, such as “Former Justice Minister Abubakar Malami Begs Nigerians For Justice” released on January 25, 2026   He also hosts podcasts documenting significant events, e.g, NDLEA arrests related to historical criminal cases  Summary Osazuwa Akonedo is a multifaceted media professional engaged in journalism, social media content creation, music, and technology via his news app. He utilizes platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Twitter/X, Facebook, and mobile applications to disseminate news and reach audiences both locally and internationally Credit: Azure AI

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