Mr Obi has slammed President Bola Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers, sacking the governor, his deputy and other elected officials.
Mr Tinubu did not “push hard enough to bring the matter to a peaceful conclusion,” said Tonye Cole.
“The parliament will be very hot today,” a lawmaker said under anonymity to discuss the upcoming rancour.
“It is a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared towards 2015,” said Mr Tinubu.
The SDP chieftains’ defection was formalised at an event held in Abuja on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in the state’s political landscape.
Reps spokesman said the National Assembly was duly consulted before the president declared a state of emergency.
The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum has advised President Bola Tinubu to reverse the state of emergency declared in Rivers.
CUPP national secretary Peter Ameh said in a statement on Tuesday that it was a “selective application of the state of emergency decree.”
“It is a welcome and positive decision by President Tinubu to restore order to Rivers, which was fast becoming a failed state,” Mr Basiru stated.
“Nigeria is not under a military rule where the governance of a state is by appointment by a junta,” said the PDP.
