The Federal Government says declaring emergency rule in Anambra is a possibility if insecurity is not checked ahead of the November governorship election.
Minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed stated this while speaking with NAN in Abuja on Thursday.
Attorney-general of the federation Abubakar Malami had given the indication on Wednesday that the Federal Government would not rule out the option of declaring a state of emergency in Anambra given the violence in the state.
However, Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the president was not in support of Malami’s position.
“In the last couple of weeks, IPOB had imposed sit-at-home on the citizens, they did not allow people to go to schools, markets and there are also high profile killings,” Mohammed told NAN.
“The AGF said yesterday that government will do whatever it takes to restore law and order in Anambra and the entire South East to ensure that symbols and pillars of democracy are not tampered with.
“The forthcoming election in the state is one of the pillars of democracy. Those who are criticising the AGF on this, have they thought for one minute what will happen if election does not take place in Anambra State on November 6?
“They should bear in mind that under our constitution, a governor cannot spend an extra day beyond the mandate of four years.”
“What will happen will be constitutional crisis of immense proportion,’’ he added.
The minister recalled that during previous democratic dispensations, state of emergency was declared in Ekiti and Plateau.
On the position of some critics that government did not declare state of emergency in Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna where they alleged there were more killings, the minister said the situation was not the same with Anambra
“I have not seen the bandits hoist any flag anywhere as opposed to Boko Haram,” he said.
