Lawyers yesterday chided President Bola Tinubu, describing his proclamation recalling Governor Sim Fubara as playing to the gallery.

Reacting to the proclamation, a Public Interest Lawyer, Dr. Abdul Mahmud, said that the presidential statement purported to recall Fubara from suspension or office is legally untenable.

“Under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the office of governor is created by the Constitution, and the processes for removal, suspension, or recall are strictly provided for therein.

“Neither the President nor any executive authority at the federal level has the constitutional power to recall, suspend, or reinstate a sitting governor. Such powers rest solely with the electorate through recall procedures, or with the State House of Assembly and, ultimately, the courts, through impeachment or judicial review. Any attempt by the President to exercise such power would amount to a constitutional overreach and an incursion into the autonomy of the states.

“Moreover, the principle of federalism, which underpins Nigeria’s constitutional order, forbids the central government from encroaching upon powers reserved for the federating units. A presidential directive on the tenure, suspension, or recall of a governor has no binding legal force and, at best, can be considered a political statement or an attempt at mediation. Its legitimacy can only be moral or persuasive, not legal.

“To treat such a statement as law would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the rule of law, eroding state autonomy, and weakening Nigeria’s fragile federal system.

Isn’t it shocking that the suit filed by PDP governors hasn’t been heard by the Supreme Court, six months after?”

Another lawyer, Abiodun Olugbemide, in his own reaction, said that, “one tends to wonder, the recall of Fubara, is it to dance to the tune of the godfather or to carry out his own desire? What has the revocation achieved?

“The recall of a governor whose state house of assembly’s loyalty is to his political godfather, and even the loyalty of the local government chairmen is to Wike?

“Has Fubara agreed to dance to their tune? What was the intention of the President in removing a democratically elected governor, and has his intention been achieved? Who was Fubara before the suspension, and who is Fubara now?

“Jurisprudentially, nothing has been learnt as far as this case is concerned, because the Supreme Court has not said anything about it. So, should this happen again, there’s nothing to dwell on from the Apex court. No precedent to refer to.

“Politically, we have learnt a bad precedent because it is now obvious that a president can wake up one day, and declare a suspension of a democratically elected governor, even alongside his house of assembly. As I said earlier, legally, nothing has been learnt because the Apex court has not decided as to what the Constitution says; thus, the matter has just been reduced to an academic exercise, and on that note, it shall remain a mere discussion based on opinions until the Supreme Court lays it to rest.