{"id":156051,"date":"2025-03-21T18:09:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T17:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers"},"modified":"2025-04-04T11:54:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T10:54:31","slug":"emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers","title":{"rendered":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, calling it a \u201cshameful endorsement of executive lawlessness\u201d and a \u201cdangerous precedent that will haunt Nigeria for years to come\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a statement signed by its president Ambassador Ibrahim Mustapha after an emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the group accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas of failing in their constitutional duty to check the excesses of the executive.<\/p>\n

The pro-democracy group said rather than standing as a pillar of democracy, the National Assembly abandoned its independence and become a mere tool in the hands of the presidency.<\/p>\n

The coalition argued that Tinubu\u2019s decision to suspend the democratically elected governor, his deputy, and the state House of Assembly was a direct assault on Nigeria\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n

It criticised the legislature for failing to resist what it described as an abuse of power that sets a dangerous precedent for governance in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe National Assembly had a historic opportunity to stand on the side of democracy, but instead, it chose to rubber-stamp an illegal and undemocratic action by the President. By endorsing this unconstitutional act, Akpabio, Abbas, and their colleagues have betrayed not only the Nigerian people but also the very essence of constitutional governance,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just about Rivers State. It is about the very soul of our democracy. If lawmakers can sit back and watch an elected governor, deputy governor, and an entire state assembly removed without due process, then no state is safe, and no democracy is secure.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigerians have watched for years as terrorists and criminals overrun communities in the North, killing and displacing thousands, yet no state of emergency has been declared there. But in Rivers, where a political crisis could have been resolved through dialogue and legal means, the President opted for brute force. The National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of this move is disgraceful.\u201d<\/p>\n

CoDA urged Nigerians and the international community to resist what it termed an \u201cassault on constitutional governance\u201d and to hold the government accountable for its actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe National Assembly may have failed us, but the people of Nigeria must not fail themselves. We must remain vigilant, speak out, and demand the restoration of constitutional order before it is too late,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

The group also reminded lawmakers that their actions would be judged by history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remind Akpabio, Abbas, and all lawmakers complicit in this betrayal that power is transient. Nigerians will not forget those who stood against democracy when it mattered most,\u201d CoDA concluded.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, calling it a \u201cshameful endorsement of executive lawlessness\u201d and a \u201cdangerous precedent that will haunt Nigeria for years to come\u201d. In a statement signed by its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":156050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[5611,678,254],"class_list":["post-156051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-emergency-rule","tag-nass","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nEmergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-21T17:09:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-04T10:54:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-21T17:09:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T10:54:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\"},\"wordCount\":470,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"emergency rule\",\"NASS\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\",\"name\":\"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-21T17:09:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T10:54:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers - Nigeria","description":"The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers","og_description":"The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2025-03-21T17:09:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-04T10:54:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers","datePublished":"2025-03-21T17:09:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-04T10:54:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers"},"wordCount":470,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg","keywords":["emergency rule","NASS","Nigeria"],"articleSection":["all news","Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers","name":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-21T17:09:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-04T10:54:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Coalition of Democrats in Africa (CoDA) has condemned the National Assembly\u2019s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742568372.523372.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-pro-democracy-group-slams-nass-for-endorsing-executive-lawlessness-in-rivers#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Emergency rule: Pro-democracy group slams NASS for endorsing \u2018executive lawlessness\u2019 in Rivers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}