Former President Goodluck Jonathan, has criticised the suspension of elected officials in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
Jonathan said the move is capable of denting the country’s image.
The ex-President stated this on Saturday while speaking as Chairman at the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium in Abuja.
Jonathan said he was disappointed that elected officials had been removed.
“These actions by key actors in the executive and legislative arms of government paint the country in a negative light,” he said.
The statement comes days after Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state.
Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
However, the House of Representatives approved Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the state despite stiff opposition from many Nigerians
Shortly after, the Senate also gave its nod and approved the State of Emergency for Rivers State as declared by Tinubu.
But Jonathan while sharing his thoughts about the political turmoil in Rivers, 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.
He decried the situation where an individual can dictate to the judiciary what to do, saying it makes it difficult for anyone to have faith in the judiciary.
Rivers: Suspension of Fubara, Odu paints Nigeria in negative light — GEJ
