The declaration of the State of Emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu has triggered palpable tension in the state.
President Tinubu on Tuesday during a nationwide broadcast, declared a State of Emergency in Rivers, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months over the protracted political crisis rocking the state.
The president consequently nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the first six months.
Rivers State was plunged into political chaos in 2024 when Governor Fubara fell out with his estranged political godfather and predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
Efforts by President Tinubu and other political bigwigs to broker peace between the duo and their loyalists failed as about 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Wike joined the fight.
The lawmakers, whose seats were declared vacant following their purported defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, were, however, reinstated by a recent ruling of the Supreme Court.
Since their reinstatement on February 28, there have been a series of verbal clashes between the governor and the 27 lawmakers led by the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule.
The governor earlier cried out alleging that the Assembly members were frustrating his efforts to implement the judgement of the apex court but the lawmakers dismissed the claim.
Impeachment notice
The apprehension gripping Rivers State began on Monday when the Martin Amaewhule-led Assembly initiated an impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy.
The lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Wike, served Fubara and Prof Odu with a notice of alleged gross misconduct, signaling an imminent impeachment process.
The notice listing the alleged misconduct sent to the Speaker was a sequel to a letter dated March 14, 2025 and signed by 26 members of the Assembly.
The Speaker, Amaewhule, sent the notice in two separate letters he signed on Monday, March 17, 2025 and addressed to the governor and his deputy.
Oil pipeline explosion
Hours after the impeachment notices were served, armed men suspected to be militants blew up a major oil pipeline, the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP), at Bodo, Gokana local government area of Rivers State.
Although the incident occurred on Monday night, the affected section of the major pipeline was reportedly on fire on Tuesday morning, causing major damage.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, while confirming the incident, that two persons were arrested in connection with the incident.
Similarly, immediately after President Tinubu proclaimed the State of Emergency on Tuesday night, another explosion reportedly occurred at a pipeline manifold in the Omwawriwa axis of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, worsening the apprehension.
Declaration of State of Emergency
President Tinubu on Tuesday became the third Nigerian president to have declared a state of emergency in states since the country returned to democracy in May 1999.
While former President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 18, 2004 declared a state of emergency on Plateau State over bloodletting violence between Muslim and Christian communities and Goodluck Jonathan on May 14, 2013 declared State of Emergency in the entire northeast over insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, Tinubu’s State of Emergency in Rivers followed a lingering political crisis in the state.
President Tinubu claimed that his decision was triggered by the quest to restore peace in Rivers and end the prolonged crisis.
However, the proclamation did not sit well with some stakeholders, who claimed that it is ‘unconstitutional’ for the president to suspend an elected governor and his deputy.
State of Emergency is not good for our democracy – Labour Party laments
The National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh in a chat with DAILY POST on Tuesday night condemned the suspension of Governor Fubara and his deputy.
Obiora, who expressed worries over the impact of the State of Emergency on Nigerian democracy, called on the National Assembly to critically look into the matter.
He said, “The State of Emergency is not good for our democracy and I think that the members of the National Assembly should look at this critically and see how they can resolve the matter.
“I’m not sure if the suspension of an elected Governor and his deputy is in line with the constitution.
“I was hoping that the issue of administration would be taken care of, but removing elected officials, I don’t think that is good for us as Nigerians”.
Tinubu’s speech shows he took sides with Wike – PDP chieftain
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr Adejor Anthony accused President Tinubu of taking sides with the FCT Minister in regards to the Rivers crisis.
According to Adejor, “Tinubu knows very well that Wike is the architect of the entire problem yet he pretends like he doesn’t know.
“In his speech, Tinubu didn’t say anything about Wike’s recent outbursts in respect to the issues in Rivers State. It was not even up to 24 hours after Wike granted an interview where he said Fubara can be impeached that those his boys served the governor impeachment notice.
“Tinubu and Wike are playing with Rivers people’s lives. This move may not go down well. Rivers State is not Lagos State. Why are they provoking these people?
“The Niger Delta people have been silent for a very long time, the militancy also reduced drastically but nobody can guarantee you that with this development things will still remain the same.
“Tinubu should have at least warned Wike to stay away from Rivers politics and focus on his current assignment as FCT Minister, but no, they all want to crucify Fubara for refusing to play their transactional politics”.
Suspension of Governor Fubara may spark up another crisis – Dr Yunusa Tanko warns
Dr Yunusa Tanko, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide told DAILY POST on Tuesday that the declaration of State of Emergency and suspension of the governor may spark up another crisis that the government may not be able to handle.
According to Yunusa, “the situation was poorly managed right from the beginning. It was very clear that those who had already manipulated the system and perpetuated the crime against the people wanted to continue in that light.
“Now they are facing stiff resistance from those they put into power. Unfortunately, the common people of Rivers State are the ones feeling the heat at the moment.
“Warning should have been given to those who think that they are lords and that everything that comes into the state must come through them.
“It is very clear that they want to use this incident to hijack the governance of Rivers State and this is totally unacceptable to the good people of the state.
“I would have strongly advised that they allow the fate of the people of Rivers State to triumph as against the personal interest of these individuals. It is obvious that personal interests have prevailed against the collective interest of the people.
“The way they are going about this situation may spark up another crisis that even the government itself may not be able to handle.
“They should have warned those godfathers, who believe that everything must pass through them”.
Situation in Rivers State justifies proclamation of state of emergency – Lawyer
On his part, a Rivers State-based lawyer, Barrister Mathew A. Abakpa told DAILY POST that the deteriorating polical crisis in Rivers State justifies President Tinubu’s moves.
He also clarified that the Nigerian President “has the power under section 305 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, to suspend both the governor and the House of Assembly if a state of emergency is proclaimed in a state by the president”.
He said, “The situation in Rivers State justifies the proclamation of a state of emergency in the state. This was however instigated by the Supreme Court decision and certain pronouncements in the case recently decided, which acknowledged the 27 publicly defected lawmakers and ordered the governor to present the state’s budget to them.
“This results in a serious crisis as the lawmakers are not interested in the budget presentation but impeachment of the governor. The last stroke that broke the camel’s back is the service of an impeachment notice on the governor by the 27 Lawmakers.
“In fierce response to the notice of impeachment, some criminals have blown up oil pipelines in the State.
“This creates a situation of break down of law and order and actual threat of lawlessness in the state, which are grounds for declaring a state of emergency under the constitution. The situation can be described as an offspring of bad politics”.
OSMEK NEWS gathered that the Nigerian Military on Tuesday night took over the Rivers Government House in Port Harcourt in compliance with Tinubu’s proclamation.
Our correspondent also gathered that some groups are planning showdown in some parts of the state in solidarity with the governor.
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