Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday declared a state of emergency in the south-western state of Ekiti following the unconstitutional impeachment of the state governor over corruption charges.
Obasanjo appointed a retired major-general to run the affairs of the state for the next six months and said the move was to prevent Ekiti descending into anarchy and threatening security in Africa’s biggest oil producer.
“I hereby declare a state of emergency in Ekiti state,” he said in a national television broadcast.
“It is a clear case of usurpation of power. It is dangerous for our democracy … to allow this flagrant violation of our constitution to go unchecked,” Obasanjo said.
The declaration of a state of emergency comes at a sensitive time in Nigerian politics. Africa’s most populous country is due to hold elections in April next year that should mark the first democratic hand-over of power since independence in 1960.
There has been a rash of attempted impeachments of state governors based on allegations of corruption. Critics say such allegations have become a political weapon as power struggles intensify ahead of the elections.
In the most high-profile case, Obasanjo and his deputy Atiku Abubakar have been trading accusations of graft. Abubakar wants to run for president next April and Obasanjo is trying to disqualify him from the race using corruption charges.
In Ekiti, state lawmakers impeached Governor Ayodele Fayose on Monday after a judicial panel found him guilty of corruption. However, the lawmakers had replaced the chief judge who headed that panel, a move which Obasanjo said was illegal.
The situation in Ekiti has been uncertain. Fayose, who is in hiding, has insisted he remained the governor. His deputy has said she was the acting governor, and the lawmakers named their speaker as the new governor.
Obasanjo said this situation could not be allowed to continue as it risked causing a breach of order and safety in Ekiti and elsewhere in Nigeria. He suspended the governor, his deputy and the state house of assembly with immediate effect.
Obasanjo’s decision is likely to fuel conspiracy theories that have been circulating in Nigeria for several months.
In particular, many of Obasanjo’s opponents accuse the president of stoking tensions with a view to postponing the elections and staying in office. Obasanjo has insisted the elections would be held on schedule and has vehemently denied that he wished to stay on after the end of his second term.
Earlier this year, an attempt to rewrite the constitution to allow Obasanjo to stand for a third term was defeated in the senate, but the president’s critics say he has not given up on the idea.