By Fatima Saka
Senator Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, has issued a scathing rebuke of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what he termed a deliberate failure to restore democratic governance in Rivers State, accusing the presidency of undermining the very ideals it claims to uphold.
The former Bayelsa State Governor made the remarks on Wednesday in Abuja during a media briefing shortly after President Tinubu addressed a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day and 26 years of uninterrupted civilian rule in Nigeria.
Senator Dickson’s comments were in direct reaction to the President’s controversial March 18 directive suspending Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Mrs Ngozi Odu, and the entire elected state House of Assembly for six months. The President simultaneously appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas as the interim administrator of the oil-rich state.
Dickson described the move as a “forceful takeover” and a betrayal of the fundamental principles of democracy.
“Let me start by saying Happy Democracy Day to all Nigerians — even though one might ask: are we truly happy?” the senator questioned pointedly. “Democracy is supposed to inspire hope, but what we saw today in the Senate was a direct assault on that hope.”
President Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech made no mention of the political crisis in Rivers, a silence that Dickson condemned as both “deeply troubling” and “symbolic of this administration’s disregard for constitutional order.”
He expressed particular dismay at the Senate President for using Democracy Day to formally read what he termed “undemocratic communications” from the presidency, including the appointment of officials into roles traditionally determined through democratic processes.
“And today, it was very annoying that the Senate President chose today, Democracy Day of all days, to read the President’s own democratic communication to the National Assembly, making appointments into democratic institutions in Rivers State, when today we expected that he should announce the restoration of democracy,” Dickson said.
He warned that the President’s actions are setting a dangerous precedent and could potentially push Nigeria toward one-party dominance.
“The President has said he is not working for a one-party state — well and good. But all the body language and all the strategies of the President and his party are indicative of the fact that they want a Nigeria of sycophants,” he added. “They want a Nigeria of people who say yes to everything. And the National Assembly cannot be that.”
Dickson also issued a stern caution against the erosion of legislative independence, asserting that executive interference with the National Assembly threatens the very foundation of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The National Assembly, the President of the Senate, and the President of the Federal Republic need to know that once you’ve caged the National Assembly, you have caged democracy,” he said.
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He ended his address with a demand for the immediate restoration of democratic structures in Rivers State, emphasizing that true commitment to democracy lies in action, not rhetoric.
“The best way to show that the President is committed to democracy is to respect the rights of everybody to free speech and free participation, and most importantly, restore as quickly as possible democratic rule in Rivers State that was unjustifiably taken away,” Senator Dickson added.
