A former Senate Majority Whip, Ali Ndume has slammed President Bola Tinubu for imposing a state of emergency in Rivers States.

According to him, Tinubu's declaration of state of emergency in Rivers undermined democratic principles.

Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, spoke on Wednesday in Port Harcourt on the sidelines of the 2nd 2025 ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar.

The lawmaker, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisted that there was no justification for Tinubu’s action, which resulted in the six-month suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers House of Assembly.

“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 told journalists.

Recall that Tinubu lifted the emergency rule on September 17, reinstating Fubara and the suspended lawmakers.

Ndume stressed that democracy thrives only when the executive, legislature, and judiciary operate independently but interdependently.

He said, “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.”

Despite his sharp criticism of Tinubu, the senator commended Governor Fubara for showing restraint throughout the crisis.

The lawmaker further stated, “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.”

Ndume also urged leaders in the oil-rich state to focus on harnessing its vast resources for development rather than plunging it back into turmoil.

He added, “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.”