…..slams undemocratic actions in Rivers State
By Haruna Salami
As Nigerians celebrate the nation’s hard-won democracy on June 12, Senator Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West) has delivered a stinging critique of what he described as growing authoritarian tendencies within the current administration, particularly in relation to the situation in Rivers State.
Speaking to journalists after President Tinubu’s Democracy Day address to a joint session of the National Assembly, Dickson said he refused to be “a bootlicker or a sycophant,” asserting that true democracy cannot thrive in an environment of suppression and political manipulation.
“There’s no better time than today to speak the truth. You cannot celebrate democracy with one hand while trampling on it with the other. I cannot be a bootlicker. I’m not in politics for contracts or appointments. I’m here because I believe in something bigger than myself”, Dickson said.
Expressing deep concern over what he called the ongoing “military-style administration” in Rivers State, the former Bayelsa State governor referencing the controversial appointments communicated by the President to the Senate that morning, attempted to raise a constitutional point of order during plenary, but was ignored by the Senate President, a move he described as “a blatant suppression” of his rights and privileges as a senator.
He said, “We all saw it, the Senate President brushed aside my point of order and rushed through the communications. That’s not democracy. That’s dictatorship dressed in legislative robes”.
According to him, the precedent being set in Rivers State could have dangerous implications for democracy nationwide. “If today it is Rivers, tomorrow it could be Lagos, Kano, or any other state,” he warned.
“You can’t declare a state of emergency, sack elected officials, and appoint loyalists to run a state, just because you lost political control. That’s not democracy, that’s a coup by another name”.
Though the acknowledged the President’s speech as “flowery and impressive in delivery”, he criticised its silence on the Rivers State crisis, adding that “not a single word was said about restoring democratic rule in Rivers State. That omission speaks volumes”.
He recalled Nigeria’s difficult journey to democracy and urged citizens not to lose hope. “There was a time when people were thrown into detention for simply speaking up. Yet we survived, Nigeria survived. We must remain vigilant. Democracy is not built by cowards, bootlickers, or sycophants, it is built by people of courage and conviction”.
Dickson concluded by reminding President Tinubu and the ruling party that words alone are not enough. “We will judge you by your actions, not your speeches. Let dissent thrive, let the constitution reign. That’s the only way to keep this democracy alive”.
