Senator Ali Ndume condemned President Tinubu’s six-month emergency rule in Rivers State, calling it unconstitutional and a dangerous assault on Nigeria’s democracy.

Former Senate Majority Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, has condemned the six-month emergency rule imposed by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State, describing it as a dangerous assault on Nigeria’s democracy.

CBI News reports that Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate and is a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke to journalists on Wednesday in Port Harcourt on the sidelines of the 2nd 2025 ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar.

Known for his blunt criticism of the Tinubu administration, Ndume insisted that the emergency declaration which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the state House of Assembly in March had no constitutional or moral justification.

“Supposing somebody wakes up one day to say he is declaring a state of emergency in Nigeria? It’s just mad, you know! Like America now, the UN now, can they declare a state of emergency in Nigeria and say the Nigerian government should be suspended? It is wrong. What is wrong is wrong,” Ndume said pointedly.

The six-month emergency rule, declared in March at the height of Rivers’ political crisis, expired on September 18, with President Tinubu restoring Governor Fubara and the legislators to office a day earlier.

But Ndume warned that the move has already set a “dangerous precedent” that could embolden future leaders to sidestep democratic processes.

“If you remove the legislature from democracy, what do you have? You don’t have democracy, and at the same time, you can’t have democracy without the executive or the judiciary. They must exist together to make democracy work,” he maintained.

Despite his sharp criticism of the President’s action, Ndume applauded Governor Fubara for his restraint and leadership during the crisis.

“It takes exceptional maturity as a leader by saying let the past be past and let’s move forward, and that is what a leader is supposed to do. And I hope that everybody, including you (journalists) and every Nigerian, will now concentrate on making sure that democracy is sustained,” the senator said.

CBI News also understands that Ndume also urged Rivers’ political class to avoid reigniting tensions in the oil-rich state, warning that endless power struggles risk squandering the region’s immense natural wealth.

“What Rivers alone has, about 15 to 20 countries in Africa put together don’t have. Yet, most of you are suffering, or all of us are suffering. Running government on discretion, personalising or even privatising it, is the main thing setting Nigeria back,” he added.

The senator’s remarks add to growing debate over the legality and implications of Tinubu’s emergency action in Rivers a decision critics fear could embolden future attempts to suspend democratic institutions in times of political crisis.