PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has declared a State of Emergency in Rivers State.
The declaration follows ongoing political turbulence in the state.
In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, the president suspended the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months.
However, he retained the state judiciary.
Tinubu blamed the governor and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for allowing the political crisis in the state to escalate.
He particularly criticised Fubara for failing to take action after an oil facility was blown up in the state on Tuesday night.
Nearly 24 hours after the explosion, the president stated that the governor had yet to condemn the incident or reach out to him.
The president appointed Ibok Ekwe Ibas, a retired rear admiral, as the state administrator.
“I have watched with concern the development with hope that the parties involved will allow good sense to prevail at the soonest, but all that hope burns out without any solution to the crisis.
“With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive,” said the president.
He explained that as a result of the crisis, the people of the state had been unable to access the dividends of democracy.
He also accused Fubara of demolishing the state House of Assembly Complex as far back as December 2023 without rebuilding it since then.
“My efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I’m also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, leaders and patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all the efforts were also to no avail,” he stated.
The president said Fubara failed to act on vandalisation of pipelines by some militants in the state and the governor took no action to contain them.
He also accused the governor of failing to condemn the attack, including the groups that had threatened mayhem and destruction of oil facilities should the governor be impeached.
He then declared what he described as “extraordinary measures” to restore good governance, peace, order, and security in the state.
“It has become inevitably compelling for me to evoke the provision of section 305 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended to declare a state of emergency in River State with effect from today 18th March, year 2025, and I so do.
“By this declaration, the governor of River State, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the House of Assembly are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
“In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retired) as administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state and the interests of the good people of River State,” the president declared.
He added that the declaration did not affect the state judiciary, which he said must continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
He added that the administrator would not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations that may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promoted by the president for the state.
He announced that the declaration had been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which he said had been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the constitution.
The ICIR reports that the declaration of emergency in Rivers State followed a huge explosion that rocked a section of the Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo Community, Gonna Local Government Area of Rivers State on Monday, March 17.
Many Nigerians see the explosion as a new twist to.the political quagmire in the state.
The blast occurred late in the night around the Bodo-Bonny Road currently under construction.
The fire affects the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP), a critical oil supply line serving the Bonny Export Terminal.
The cause of the explosion remains unknown as of press time.
Some groups had recently threatened to attack oil installations in the Niger-Delta region in response to the Supreme Court ruling which directed the Federal Government to withhold Rivers State’s allocation amid the political turmoil in the state.
The ICIR reported that the political crisis in the state climaxed on Monday when the House of Assembly served Fubara, and his deputy, Odu, a notice of gross misconduct, which could lead to their impeachment.
The House members, who have been at loggerheads with the governor, claimed the accusation was in tandem with the Nigerian constitution.
The lawmakers accused Fubara of misusing public funds, obstructing the Assembly, and making unauthorised appointments without proper screening and confirmation.
Others include the withholding of lawmakers’ salaries, allowances, and seizure of salaries of the Assembly’s clerk, Emeka Amadi.
They also accused the deputy governor of plotting and supporting the illegal appointment into offices/positions in the Rivers State Government without following due process.
Recall that the power struggle between the governor and the Amaewhule-led Assembly reached its peak after the Supreme Court’s judgment, which ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation to withhold Rivers State’s statutory allocation.
It also annulled the recent local government election conducted in the state by Fubara.
Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, have been at loggerheads over who controls the PDP structure in the state.
A reporter with the ICIR
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