“One Day, Your Children Will Ask How You Voted” – Audu Ogbeh to Lawmakers on Rivers Emergency

Former Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, has expressed strong criticism over the manner in which the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State. Speaking on a televised interview, Ogbeh warned lawmakers that the decisions they make today will be scrutinized by future generations, including their own children and grandchildren.

The National Assembly on Thursday approved the president’s proclamation, which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu, and all elected state officials for a six-month period. Despite facing opposition, both chambers of the legislature backed the executive order using a voice vote, a method Ogbeh has condemned as lacking transparency.

Ogbeh, a former Deputy Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly and ex-National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called for the adoption of digital tools that would allow lawmakers to vote individually and leave a verifiable record. He argued that such a system would provide clarity on the stance of each lawmaker, as opposed to the current “ayes and nays” process, which he described as a “camouflage.”

“No one should hide under a shadow,” Ogbeh said during his appearance on Channels Television’s *Politics Today*. “If you want a vote, say so; if you don’t want it, say so. But this ayes and nays doesn’t work. Someday, 10 to 20 years from now, researchers, children, and grandchildren will want to know how individuals voted on particular bills.”

Ogbeh also questioned the necessity of declaring a state of emergency, urging President Tinubu to have instead sought peaceful intervention through engagement with respected national figures. He emphasized that Rivers State, and by extension the Niger Delta, holds too much significance for the country to risk instability.

“Rivers State is bigger than any individual,” he said. “We are not interested in watching a situation where Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta will go up in flames.”

Ogbeh served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture from 2015 to 2019 under President Muhammadu Buhari.