A senior lawyer and APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, has strongly defended President Bola Tinubu’s controversial decision to suspend Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara under the state of emergency declaration. Speaking on Arise Prime Time TV, Morka insisted that the president holds “extraordinary powers” to take such measures in times of crisis.
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When questioned on the specific constitutional provision that grants the president authority to suspend an elected governor, Morka argued that emergency rule allows for “massive variations of the norm prescribed by the Constitution.” He maintained that it is the president alone who determines whether circumstances warrant the exercise of such authority, particularly in a state like Rivers, which he described as economically vital due to its strategic oil assets.
Pressed to cite a clear constitutional basis for suspending an elected official, Morka avoided a direct answer, instead stating that disputes over constitutional interpretation are ultimately for the courts to resolve.
Morka blamed Governor Fubara for the political instability in Rivers State, accusing him of instigating the constitutional crisis that led to federal intervention. He alleged that Fubara “initiated, authored, and precipitated” the turmoil by destroying the Rivers State House of Assembly building, effectively disabling the legislature for over a year.
He further claimed that the governor had “enabled militants in the Niger Delta to attack oil installations,” necessitating emergency action to protect Nigeria’s critical economic infrastructure.
Criticizing those who oppose Tinubu’s decision, Morka accused them of hypocrisy, arguing that they were silent when Governor Fubara allegedly destroyed the House of Assembly. He also referenced a Supreme Court ruling, which he claimed affirmed that “there was no effective government in Rivers State” before the emergency declaration.
Addressing the ongoing political crisis over lawmakers’ defections, Morka emphasized that legislative members cannot merely declare their defection verbally without following proper legal procedures.
“It’s not as simple as someone taking a microphone and saying, ‘I am leaving my party,'” Morka explained. He likened it to his own position, stating that even if he announced on television that he was leaving the APC, it would have “no legal effect whatsoever” without due process.
He further explained that, under the Constitution, legislators lose their seats upon defection, except when a division or factionalization within their party exists.
“There’s a proviso—an exceptional clause. If you decamp due to a division within your party, you are not liable to the general rule of forfeiting your seat,” he stated. However, he insisted that determining whether a lawmaker has legitimately forfeited their seat is a matter for the courts, not the governor or any other authority.
Despite his detailed legal arguments, Morka remained silent on the withdrawn affidavit filed at the Federal High Court (FHC) regarding the defections.
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