20 March 2025 | 4:18 am
The federal government, yesterday, warned that it would not hesitate to visit severe sanctions, including a state of emergency on any other state where the nation’s economic interest is threatened.
This is just as Nigerians from diverse backgrounds have continued to voice their rejection of the State of Emergency (SOE) declared last Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu, in Rivers State, insisting that the measure was a huge affront to Nigeria’s democracy.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, while speaking with State House Correspondents, rationalised the President’s action, saying that there would be no preferential treatment to anybody.
Fagbemi said: “So, it is Rivers’ turn today. It can be anybody’s turn tomorrow. Let the signal be clearly signed for those who want to foment trouble, who want to make the practice of democracy and enjoyment of the dividend of democracy a mirage, to think twice.
“The declaration of State of emergency was a warning signal to other states, whose actions may threaten the economic security of the country, suggesting that the government would invoke stricter sanctions.
“If it happens again, I will encourage mister president to do the same, maybe this time with even greater vigour and vitality. So, the question of separating or treating or giving preferential treatment to anybody does not arise.”
President Tinubu had, apart from proclaiming the State of Emergency in a bid to arrest the threat of anarchy and violence that could lead to the destruction of property and loss of lives, also appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd).
The President, yesterday, administered the oath of office on the Sole Administrator at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the brief ceremony, Ibas said he knows the circumstances that led to where we are, adding, “Mr President made it very clear in this broadcast that the main issue is that of maintaining law and order in the state.
“I think for any meaningful activities to take place in Rivers state, that is the utmost task I have to work together with all other stakeholders to ensure that we bring peace, order and security and stability to the people and government of River State, and Nigeria at large.”
State of emergency not democratic
But renouncing the State of Emergency, the immediate past Minister of Transportation and erstwhile Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, condemned the President’s action as a harbinger of anarchy and death of democracy.
According to Amaechi, who is also a former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), “With this singular move, Mr President has technically suspended and truncated democracy in Rivers State. This clearly violates our Constitution, the same Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Mr. President swore to uphold.
“Section 188 of the Nigeria Constitution clearly stipulates how a State Governor can be removed from office. And it does not include a fiat declaration, decree or promulgation by Mr President. Therefore, he cannot appropriate such powers to himself.
“A democratically elected State Governor cannot be removed from office by a proclamation of Mr President. The suspension of two key democratically elected arms of Government in Rivers State by Mr. President evidently violates our Constitution, even within the scope and interpretation of Section 305 that the President cited in his broadcast.”
While lamenting the unlawful suspension of elected democratic institutions in his home state of Rivers, the former Minister said the measure “points to a brazen attempt at power grab in the state by forces and persons who do not have such Constitutional powers.”
He stated that the unfolding events in Rivers State in the past months point to a clearly orchestrated plot by some persons to unconstitutionally perpetrate and impose themselves on the people.
Also, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 poll, Mr Peter Obi, described the state of emergency as a threat to democracy, stressing that “the President’s unilateral removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, is reckless, illegal, and a dangerous precedent that undermines the rule of law.”
Obi warned that if Nigerians allow the constitutional breach to stand, it could embolden the presidency to arbitrarily suspend other state governments in the future.
He stated: “The President’s decision to remove Governor Fubara and suspend the Rivers State House of Assembly is a blatant violation of the Constitution. This reckless action threatens to erase 26 years of democratic progress and return Nigeria to an era of lawlessness.”
While contending that Section 305(1) of the 1999 Constitution does not empower the President to remove an elected governor, the LP presidential candidate declared: “This is not just about Rivers State; it is about the survival of democracy in Nigeria. If this impunity is not checked, no elected official will be safe from executive overreach.”
Also, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), strongly criticized President Tinubu’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State, calling it a “hasty, lopsided and partisan” move allegedly designed to favour the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and his cohorts.
Fielding questions from journalists in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the INC President, Prof. Benjamin Ogele Okaba, accused the President of ignoring wise counsel and implementing a premeditated plan.
He said the decision to sack democratic structures in Rivers State was initiated by the Ijaw people’s refusal to be provoked into violence during last Saturday’s orchestrated thanksgiving and hosting of Wike at Abalama.
According to Okaba, the supposed aim of the Abalama event was to incite violence and create justification for the declaration of emergency rule, but the plot failed when Ijaw youths heeded the wise counsel of their elders.
Legislative pause
Meanwhile, despite tabling the matter as a priority item on the order paper, the Senate, Wednesday, failed to deliberate and resolve whether to approve the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State or otherwise.
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, had to shift it to the fourth order, only for all other matters listed for the day to be shifted to the next legislative day (Thursday), a recommendation, which was seconded by Minority Leader Abba Moro.
Expectations were high that the National Assembly would be definitive on the matter, but no reason was adduced for the delay and postponement of the order. When Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the motion to a voice vote, the majority of lawmakers supported its deferral.
As contained in the Senate’s order paper, the crisis in Rivers has paralyzed governance, preventing residents from fully benefiting from democracy.
“The Senate notes that the state has been at a standstill since the crises began, with the good people of Rivers unable to enjoy the dividends of democracy. It observes that the magnitude of the crisis has overwhelmed the state government, as involved parties have failed to allow good sense to prevail and restore peace. The Federal Government’s intervention aims to restore peace, security, and good governance,” the order stated.
However, in the lower legislative chamber, the House of Representatives, the Deputy Spokesperson, Hon. Philip Agbese, disclosed that the lawmakers read the President’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State on the pages of newspapers and online news platforms.
He remarked that at the time of speaking with reporters, members of the House had not received any official communication from the Speaker regarding the matter.
Agbese, who spoke to journalists after Wednesday’s plenary, said even though the president invited principal officers of the National Assembly to a meeting on Tuesday in the Presidential Villa, other lawmakers learned about it from newspapers like other Nigerians.
But Agbese’s position differed from that of the House of Representatives’ Spokesperson, Hon. Akin Rotimi, who had on Tuesday affirmed that the President’s formal letter has been transmitted, informing the lawmakers of his decision.
He explained that the letter sought legislative approval in line with Section 305 of the Constitution, saying that it would be read during plenary the next being Wednesday, March 19, 2025, and further legislative action debated and decided.
Calm, suspense in Rivers
As Nigerians continued to discuss the merits and otherwise of the State of Emergency in the state, a semblance of peace mixed with apprehension reigned.
The Guardian reports that Port Harcourt, the state capital, has remained relatively peaceful since Tuesday, as normal business activities continued amid free flow of traffic.
Two police armoured tanks have been stationed at the entrance of the Government House, even as there were hints that security guards at the Government House have been swapped.
It was also gathered that the military personnel deployed to the Government House on Tuesday night left early Wednesday. But at 10.00 a.m., vans of military and police officers were patrolling the city.
The whereabouts of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, remain unclear, just as sources claimed that he left the Government House earlier on Wednesday, while another source said he was seen in a meeting till yesterday evening.
More knocks
More knocks continue to trail the declaration of State of Emergence in the oil-rich state. A legal practitioner and lecturer at the Rivers State University, Dr Chukwuma Chinelo, said, the action was long in coming.
He stated: “We saw it coming, and it is all about the ambition of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who wanted to make the state his personal kingdom. He wanted to run the state like his private estate. Many of us, even those who went to other parties against 2023, did so not because of Fubara. We knew the ambition of Wike that he wanted to make Rivers his own, which Fubara found difficult to accept.
“So, it is a matter of selfish ambition and greed. Unfortunately for us, the President did not want to see things in the light of the Constitution but simply for the selfish interest targeted towards 2027.”
Similarly, a policy and political analyst and former Spokesman of Civil Liberty Organisations in Rivers State, Sunny Dada, said the state of emergency was a direct consequence of selfish political interests and power struggles between internal and external centrifugal forces who are bent on capturing the soul of rivers state in 2027.
According to him, the way forward is for the president to rescind his decision and summon the gladiators to a round table dialogue. He said, such a dialogue should not be seen to be lopsided as we saw in previous efforts.
“The president should be courageous enough to call the FCT Minister to order and also ensure that the right conditions for the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement is created.”
