Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, met with President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where the president denied the push by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami to impose a state of emergency on Anambra State.
The governor said he reported the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to the President over the minister’s pronouncement that the Federal Government might declare a state of emergency in Anambra to ensure that the November 6 governorship election in the state takes place.
After the meeting with Buhari, Obiano said the President does not want any kind of intimidation ahead of the poll.
He stated that Buhari opposed the idea of emergency rule.
According to Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, a state of emergency is a situation of national danger or disaster in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures in order to regain control.
A declared state of emergency allows the President to immediately make any desired regulations to secure public order and safety.
The insecurity in Anambra State worsened a few weeks ago with a declaration by a separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra that the November 6 governorship poll in the state would not hold.
On Wednesday, the AGF told State House correspondent that the government had the responsibility to sustain the democratic order and would do the needful to ensure that the election holds.
He said, “No possibility is ruled out by government in terms of ensuring the sanctity of our democratic order, in terms of ensuring that our elections in Anambra hold.
“And you cannot rule out the possibility of declaration of state of emergency where it is established, in essence, that there is a failure on the part of the state government to ensure the sanctity of security of lives, properties and democratic order.”
Reacting on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Information in Anambra State, Don Adinuba, described as outrageous, the threat by Malami.
According to the commissioner, Anambra has not experienced the level of killings recorded in Kaduna, Borno, Zamfara and the other Northern states where rampaging bandits have murdered hundreds of innocent citizens in the last few months.
Adinuba noted that despite the high killings in the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones, elections were held in the states.
The commissioner said there was nothing in the renewed violence in Anambra in the last few weeks that warrant the declaration of an emergency rule in the South-Eastern state.
Similarly, the Anambra State Government, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Senior Advocates of Nigeria including Paul Ananaba, Emeka Etiaba and Femi Falana, have carpeted Malami over his pronouncement.