…says Tinubu acted in good faith
…NASS to ratify proclamation in 48 hours
Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has justified Tuesday’s declaration of the State of Emergency in Rivers State, saying the ousted Rivers State Governor, Simi Fubara, was the one who ‘teleguided’ the militants to blast the critical national assets – the oil pipelines – in Rivers State.
Fagbemi, speaking with State House Journalists after meeting with the president on Wednesday, said the president acted in good faith to save critical national assets from further destruction, just as he blamed embattled Governor Fubara for not taking proactive actions to save the critical national assets.
“The governor failed to make a request to the president to intervene in saving the oil installations”, Fagbemi, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said.
Read also: Rivers: Sources divided over pipeline fire incident in Omoku areas
The Attorney General stated that the governor was encouraging the militants, either directly or indirectly instead of working to save the assets.
“Now, when do you think he (President Tinubu) should have come in? Is it when everything has been destroyed? I don’t think so.
“I think the president has acted timeously. He has given an opportunity to all the parties involved, to make amends. Before then, he had to assemble them, he had tried to mediate,” he added.
Recall that President Tinubu had on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
In a national broadcast, Tinubu cited prolonged political instability, Constitutional breaches, and security threats as reasons for the extraordinary measure.
The crisis, which had paralysed governance in the oil-rich State, stemmed from a power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As part of the directive, the president also appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.) as the sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs until normalcy is restored. Ibas served as Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
During the live national broadcast held on Tuesday night, President Tinubu announced, “In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, March 18, 2025 and I so do.
Read also: Rivers crisis: Manipulative subordinates may have tied president’s hands, says Peterside
“By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
“In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd.) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.”
Details shortly…
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