Mix reactions trail emergency rule declaration in Rivers State

…Atiku Abubakar,Bode George,CUPP, PDP condemn action

…APC, Jude Idimogu, others welcome development

While some individuals and organisations criticised the emergency rule declaration in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu others welcomed the development as a good move.

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) described the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers as a “dangerous precedent” for Nigeria democracy.

The CUPP National Secretary, Peter Ameh, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja also described it as a “selective application of the state of emergency decree”.

Ameh said that by suspending Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and appointing a sole administrator, President Bola Tinubu had flagrantly disregarded the Constitution and undermined the principles of democracy.

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“The selective application of the State of emergency decree in Rivers State, while ignoring other states plagued by similar or even worse security challenges, raises questions about the motivations behind such a decision.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also rejected the declaration of State of emergency in Rivers, stating that the president has no power to suspend democratically elected governor.

The party stated this in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ologunagba, however, described Mr president action as “utter violation” of the 1999 Constitution.

Also reacting, former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, George defended Rivers State Governor Fubara, questioning what actions warranted such an extreme measure. He accused Tinubu of giving Interior Minister Wike military and security forces to create instability in the state

George called the move unconstitutional and an abuse of presidential power. “This is absolute Armageddon—total disrespect for constituted authority. The Constitution has been viciously violated,” he said.

“What did Fubara do? As Commander-in-Chief, Tinubu gave Wike soldiers and security agents to destabilize Rivers State. The governor has no control over security agencies, yet he remained calm,” George explained.

Welcoming the development in Rivers State, Ajibola Basiru, National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), applauded President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers.

Reacting to the development, the APC scribe expressed hope that the emergency would help restore peace and order in the troubled oil-producing state.

“It is a welcome and positive decision by President Tinubu to restore order to Rivers, which was fast becoming a failed state,” Basiru stated in agency report.

Basiru lamented that both the executive and legislature in Rivers had failed in their constitutional duty to ensure the people’s welfare and security.

Also Jude Idimogu, a former two-term Lagos State House of Assembly member, has commended President Bola Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers.

Idimogu, who represented Oshodi-Isolo 1 from 2015 to 2023, said , in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, that the declaration would address the political crisis in the state.

Read also: NBA condemns Tinubu’s suspension of Rivers governor as unconstitutional overreach

He said that the political tension in the state, caused by the feud between Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, needed quick intervention.

“The President has taken the right action, but for me it is even too late because these signs have been there.

“My fear is that Rivers is a melting point for Nigeria, particularly in terms of crude oil exploration and others, and some people might want to cause trouble as a result of the declaration ” Idimogu said.

He, however, urged President Tinubu to create a platform to reconcile feuding parties and resolve all issues once and for all.

Also reacting, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar described the declared state of emergency in Rivers as an “assault on democracy”.

Abubakar, in a statement he issued on Tuesday in Abuja, also described it as a “political manipulation and action taken in bad faith”.

He alleged that anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knew that President Bola Tinubu had vested interest in the state.

Abubakar decried the calculated negligence in preventing the escalation tension in Rivers.

He said that Tinubu should have ended the condemnable destruction of national infrastructure in the state.

H said that the Niger Delta had been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability — undoing the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

“Years of progress have been recklessly erased in pursuit of selfish political calculations.

“Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he said.