Rivers: Ojudu condemns Tinubu’s emergency rule as “reckless,” warns of economic fallout

In a statement released Tuesday night, former Senator Babafemi Ojudu sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, calling the move “reckless and unnecessary” with potentially devastating economic consequences for Nigeria.

Ojudu, who stated he had just broken his fast to find his phone flooded with messages about the development, questioned who had advised the President to take such drastic action in what he described as “a simple political dispute.”

“How could the President willingly walk into a raging inferno with his eyes wide open?” Ojudu asked. “This must be the work of fifth columnists. The Tinubu I once knew would not have made such a reckless and unnecessary decision.”

The controversy centres on the ongoing political conflict between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, who previously served as Rivers State governor.

Ojudu warned that the declaration could significantly impact Nigeria’s oil production, noting that previous political instability in the Niger Delta had caused the country’s oil output to plummet from 2.5 million barrels per day to below 400,000 barrels during the Buhari administration, twice pushing Nigeria into recession.

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“If the situation escalates, we risk another shutdown of vital oil production facilities,” Ojudu cautioned. “We risk renewed pipeline sabotage, illegal oil bunkering, and militant activities.”

The former senator also expressed concern about military resources being diverted from other security challenges, highlighting that Nigerian soldiers are already fighting insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers across multiple regions of the country.

Ojudu urged President Tinubu to reconsider, suggesting a more diplomatic approach: “Call the two gladiators, sit them down, and read them the riot act. One of them, after all, is your own appointee.”

“A state of emergency is not a strategy—it is an admission of failure,” Ojudu concluded.