NADECO-USA demands for resignation of Rivers Sole Administrator

• says President lacks power to suspend an elected governor

The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the US chapter) has demanded the immediate resignation of the Sole Administrator posted to Rivers State saying the President has no such powers under the 1999 Constitution to remove or suspend an elected governor.

In statement datelined Washington DC, Lloyd Ukwu, who is indicated as the president of the US chapter, said Nigeria operates as a federation, and that Rivers State is a sovereign entity within it.

“As President, Tinubu lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally suspend an elected governor like Sim Fubara. Rivers State is not a subordinate institution, neither is it a high school and Tinubu is not its overseer and not the principal of a high school who can suspend a student willy-nilly.”

NADECO said the only thing fit and proper is for the Sole Administrator to quit honourably to give room for the return of the elected governor.

The statement said it was wrong for president whose election was contested to the highest level due to what it called ‘widespread irregularity’ to now go about removing another elected authority. It is both absurd and unjust for a president whose mandate is contested to attempt the removal of a legally and duly elected governor.

NADECO USA stated that in a democracy, sovereignty resides with the citizens, not with an unelected administrator or any other category of persons. “Governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed. Leaders are entrusted with the power to serve the people, not to rule over them by imposing an administrator over them.

“The people of Rivers State exercised their democratic right in 2023 by electing Siminalayi Fubara as their governor. They did not choose an imposed administrator. NADECO therefore demands the immediate resignation of this illegitimate appointee.”

NADECO said true democracy requires that governance be rooted in the people’s will, expressed through free and fair elections. “The current administrator lacks any mandate from the people. NADECO calls on Rivers people to unequivocally reject him.”

The body also raised concerns over the line of loyalty of the Sole Administrator, saying he may not be accountable to Rivers people but to some personalities outside the state that were named. “His allegiance lies with these political actors, not with the citizens he claims to govern whereas the principle of ‘Power to the People’ is enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution and international human rights instruments, including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Upholding this principle, NADECO insists that Rivers people must completely and resolutely reject this illegal administrator, forcing his resignation. Anything less is unacceptable.”

NADECO urged the people of Rivers State to remain peaceful and law-abiding in their lawful pursuit of their constitutionally protected right to protest in the face of injustice. “History, however, reminds us that when a government tramples on the rights of the people and renders judicial redress impossible, as is the case now in Nigeria, the people retain the inherent right to resist oppression.”