Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticised the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, describing it as an act of political manipulation and bad faith.
The crisis in Rivers State has been building for months, with escalating political tensions fuelling unrest and insecurity.
The federal government’s decision to impose emergency rule has generated controversy, with Atiku asserting that Tinubu’s administration deliberately allowed the situation to deteriorate to justify an authoritarian response.
Atiku in a statement in Tuesday stated that Tinubu has been a direct participant in the political turmoil in Rivers, either through blatant refusal to act or calculated negligence.
He argued that the President’s failure to prevent the crisis from escalating is a disgraceful abdication of responsibility.
Beyond the political machinations, Atiku pointed to the alarming security breaches that led to the destruction of federal infrastructure in Rivers, stating that the responsibility falls squarely on Tinubu’s administration.
He maintained that the chaos in the state is either a product of government-enabled violence or an outright failure to prevent it.
The former presidential candidate lamented that under Tinubu’s leadership, the Niger Delta is regressing into an era of violent unrest, undoing the hard-earned peace secured during the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s tenure.
Atiku warned that years of progress have been recklessly discarded in the pursuit of selfish political interests.
According to him, if federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility.
He condemned the decision to impose emergency rule, arguing that it unfairly punishes the people of Rivers State while serving the political ambitions of Tinubu and his allies.
He described the move as an attack on democracy that must be strongly resisted.
The statement read, “The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith.
“Anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers. His blatant refusal — or calculated negligence — in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful.
“Beyond the political scheming in Rivers, the brazen security breaches that led to the condemnable destruction of national infrastructure in the state land squarely on the President’s desk.”
According to Atiku, “Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent.
“It is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has 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.”
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility. 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,” Atiku added.
Similarly, Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 presidential election Peter Obi has faulted President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Obi in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle described the president’s decision as ‘unconstitutional and reckless’.
He said: “The unilateral decision of President Bola Tinubu to remove Governor Similaya Fubara of Rivers State from office is not only unconstitutional but also reckless.
“It has plunged us back into a state of lawlessness, hugely undoing the progress we have made in these 26 years of democratic journey.
“By disregarding the rule of law, the President has shown a dangerous willingness to trample on democracy.”
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has described as illegal the decision of President Bola Tinubu to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months.
In a statement made available to the media, the senior lawyer said the President’s decision cannot be justified under any of the provisions of the 320 sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
While recognizing that Section 305 of the Constitution empowers the President to take extraordinary measures to restore law and order if there is an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation, Falana argued that the extraordinary measures which may be adopted by the President to restore peace and security do not include the suspension of an elected Governor, an elected Deputy Governor, and the dissolution of other democratic structures.
He, therefore, called on the President to follow the path of constitutionalism without any delay and to proceed to reinstate the suspended Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu and restore all democratic structures in Rivers State.
Also reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the imposition of a state of emergency in Rivers State, declaring that President Bola Tinubu does not have the constitutional power to suspend the democratically elected governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara.
In a statement on Tuesday, PDP spokesman Debo Ologunagba said Tinubu’s proclamation was in violation of the 1999 Constitution.
The PDP spokesman said, “The unconstitutional declaration by President Tinubu of the suspension of the democratically elected Governor of Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and appointment of an unelected individual, Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) to govern the State is a clear attack on our nation’s democracy, an abrogation of the votes and democratic right of the people of Rivers State to choose their leader under the Constitution.
“The action of Mr. President therefore clearly borders on attempt at state capture.
“It is the climax of a well-oiled plot to forcefully take over Rivers State for which the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been bent on stoking crisis to ensure that democracy is ultimately truncated in the State.”
SaharaReporters/Channels/Punch
