The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labor Party, Peter Obi, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as “unconstitutional and reckless.”

Obi accused Tinubu of disregarding rule of law and showing a dangerous willingness to trample on democracy.

“It has plunged us back into a state of lawlessness, hugely undoing the progress we have made in these 26 years of democratic journey

“Obi stated on his X handle that, it is a degrading back door imposition of martial rule on a strategic part of the federation with all the implied negatives.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labor Party, Peter Obi, claimed that the political situation in Rivers does not justify the emergency rule and the suspension of Governor Siminlayi Fubara, his deputy and state lawmakers, adding that the action is also a biased interpretation of section 305(1) of the 1999 constitution.

Obi, therefore, appealed to the National Assembly and all stakeholders not to allow the emergence rule to stand, saying that the action will deepens the culture of impunity and threatens democracy.

PUNCH