{"id":2851,"date":"2025-03-20T08:05:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T08:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=2851"},"modified":"2025-03-20T08:05:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T08:05:34","slug":"labour-to-tinubu-reverse-the-unconstitutional-declaration-of-state-of-emergency-in-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/03\/20\/labour-to-tinubu-reverse-the-unconstitutional-declaration-of-state-of-emergency-in-rivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour to Tinubu: Reverse the unconstitutional declaration of state of emergency in Rivers.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">By Our Reporter<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">As the nation awaits National Assembly decision on the emergency rule proclaimed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday,the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have unequivocally condemned what they described as Mr. President\u2019s hasty and unconstitutional declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, urging President Bola Tinubu to immediately reverse the action.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">According to the twin labour unions, the action blatantly violates the provisions of Part II, Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and constitutes an overreach of executive power.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In a statement jointly signed by NLC president, Joe Ajaero and TUC president, Festus Osifo, the labour bodies said the purported suspension or removal of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and the State House of Assembly is not only unlawful but a direct assault on democracy.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">According to the statement:&#8221;It sets a dangerous precedent, eroding constitutional governance and threatening the autonomy of subnational governments.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;No democratic society can thrive where elected leaders are arbitrarily removed at the whims of the President. This reckless move should deeply concern every reasonable governor and citizen who believes in the rule of law.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;We, therefore, call on Mr. President to revoke this unconstitutional declaration in compliance with Section 305(6) of the Constitution, which clearly outlines the legal process for declaring and sustaining a state of emergency.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;The President, as the custodian of the nation\u2019s executive powers, must exercise restraint, respect constitutional limits, and act in a manner that inspires national confidence rather than suspicion.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Any decision that jeopardizes national security, economic stability, and democratic governance must be reconsidered.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Nigeria has suffered the painful consequences of political overreach in the past, and we cannot afford to repeat such mistakes.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Beyond the political and legal implications, this unjustified state of emergency will have severe socio-economic repercussions on workers and the masses. It will:<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0Disrupt economic activities, forcing businesses to shut down or scale back operations;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Lead to job losses, wage cuts, and economic hardship for thousands of workers in both the formal and informal sectors;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Create an atmosphere of uncertainty, discouraging investment and slowing economic growth in Rivers State and beyond;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Expose citizens to security risks, as history has shown that politically motivated states of emergency often escalate rather than resolve crises.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Accordingly,\u00a0 the\u00a0 Labour movement will not remain silent while the livelihoods of workers and the well-being of ordinary Nigerians are threatened by political machinations.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;Given his storied background in political struggle, we urge Mr. President not to betray his democratic credentials by engaging in actions reminiscent of military-era authoritarianism.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0&#8220;Leadership demands wisdom, restraint, and an unwavering commitment to democratic principles.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;We demand the immediate reversal of this unconstitutional state of emergency in the interest of democracy, economic stability, and the welfare of Nigerian workers. Nigeria\u2019s democracy must not be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency&#8221;.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Our Reporter As the nation awaits National Assembly decision on the emergency rule proclaimed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday,the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have unequivocally condemned what they described as Mr. President\u2019s hasty and unconstitutional declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1795,1760,1792,15,1794,1793,1791,1790],"class_list":["post-2851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-authoritarianism","tag-declaration","tag-emergency-rule","tag-god","tag-military-era","tag-proclaimed","tag-reminiscent","tag-unconstitutional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2853,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851\/revisions\/2853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}