ABUJA, Nigeria — Senator Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West, has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu for failing to reinstate the suspended elected government in Rivers State, accusing him of undermining Nigeria’s democratic principles on the very day the country marked 26 years of uninterrupted civil rule.
The former Bayelsa State Governor made the comments on Thursday, June 12, 2025, during a media chat following President Tinubu’s address to a joint session of the National Assembly in celebration of Democracy Day.
President Tinubu, in a controversial move on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
He subsequently appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas as the state’s administrator — a decision that has drawn strong criticism from opposition lawmakers and civil society groups, who see it as a violation of the Nigerian Constitution.
“Let me start by saying Happy Democracy Day to all Nigerians — even though one might ask: are we truly happy?” Senator Dickson began.
“Democracy is supposed to inspire hope, but what we saw today in the Senate was a direct assault on that hope.”
Visibly angered, Dickson condemned the President’s failure to use the occasion of Democracy Day to reverse what he described as an “unjustifiable” usurpation of democratic governance in the oil-rich state, which is controlled by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“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,” he said.
Senator Dickson accused the Tinubu administration of steering Nigeria toward a de facto one-party state.
“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,” Dickson stated.
“They want a Nigeria of people who say yes to everything. And the National Assembly cannot be that.”
He warned that weakening the legislature undermines democracy itself.
“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.”
Dickson urged President Tinubu to demonstrate a genuine commitment to democratic values by restoring the suspended elected government in Rivers State without delay.
“You cannot come and then make beautiful speeches on the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly claiming that you are democratic, claiming that you are not working towards a one-party rule,” he said.
“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, most poignantly, restore as quickly as possible democratic rule in Rivers State that was unjustifiably taken away.”
