Why The House Backed Tinubu’s State OF Emergency In Rivers – Rep Benedict Exposes The Truth

On Thursday, the House of Representatives and the Senate, through voice votes, ratified President Bola Tinubu’s state of emergency proclamation in Rivers State. The federal legislature also upheld the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly.

In an interview with News Central, the Delta State lawmaker explained that while he and several other opposition lawmakers initially opposed the President’s declaration, they eventually supported it after understanding the reasoning behind the President’s actions.

“Things that happen outside plenary are different from what you see in plenary. When everyone comes to plenary and votes, that’s not the whole story. If the events leading up to this were reported, many of the statements made by people would not have happened,” he said.

Benedict dismissed claims that the National Assembly was intimidated or bribed into ratifying the President’s proclamation, clarifying that many changes were made to the original declaration.

He emphasized that the House approved the suspension and declaration to ensure peace, allowing the Governor to later resume office.

“It’s clear that the proclamation made by the President two days ago, as communicated to the National Assembly, did not return in its original form. That shows that the National Assembly had to address and amend several issues, making adjustments as needed,” he said.

Benedict further explained that he personally moved a motion to ensure the oversight of the sole administrator was in line with the National Assembly, contrary to what the President had proposed.

“The ultimate goal is peace. In government, managing a situation is different from making social commentary outside. If, hypothetically, the Governor had been impeached, there would have been violence and loss of life. At what point do we say no to bloodshed? Many of us initially disagreed with the proclamation, but after seeking clarification, we understood that the goal was to restore peace and allow the Governor to continue his term,” he added.