Rivers: Jonathan goes proverbial to ‘avoid heating up the polity’

However, the former President had previously said he will not comment on the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers and the suspension of the governor, his deputy and members of the state House of Assembly. President Bola Tinubu had, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, declared the state of emergency, citing the escalating political crisis in the state as reason for the action. The suspension of the governor, his deputy and members of the house of assembly was for an initial period of six months. Jonathan, while speaking at a colloquium organised by Haske Satumari Foundation in Abuja on Saturday, said that a lot of people had reached out to him for his comment on the political situation in Rivers. “As a leader from the Niger Delta, people had been reaching out to me for my comment on the political situation in Rivers State,” he said. The former president, however, said that it was not the norm for former presidents to comment on policies and actions of their successors, to avoid heating up the polity.