Tuesday’s declaration of a state of emergency on Rivers state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came in the midst of a deteriorating political crisis that had lingered for several months, threatening the fragile peace of the state since Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his erstwhile godfather and predecessor now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, parted ways. Both groups in the crisis had found it incapable of thawing the cold ice of mutual suspicion that was ripping the political space after the Supreme Court directed Governor Fubara to re-submit the 2025 budget to the defected 27 lawmakers that were saved by the court’s verdict.
For the lawmakers, who were returned to their former positions by the apex court, their return from the wilderness of rejection after being subjected to a life of penury without salaries for nearly a year, offered them an opportunity to pay the governor back in his own coin. Demonstrating his commitment to fully comply with the ruling of the highest court in the land, Fubara had last week sent an invitation to the defected lawmakers for a meeting to discuss on the way forward. The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly rejected the invite, saying sending an invitation to them through the social media could be deemed as inappropriate.
When Fubara stormed the Rivers State House of Assembly complex last week in a last minute attempt to meet the irritated lawmakers, he found the gates of the complex locked. Entreaties by some officials of the governor to unlock the gates to allow the governor access to the complex proved unsuccessful. A distraught governor was shown addressing journalists in trending video clips that gained traction in various media platforms patronised by millions of Nigerians and the international community.
Thereafter, the lawmakers summarily slammed 18-point impeachment charges on Fubara, even as they embarked on an indefinite recess. The implications of recess, without any intervention from the federal government, carried foreboding consequences for the people of Rivers state. With both parties refusing to sheathe the sword, it was just a matter of time for things to escalate into an uncontrollable violence.
Justifying the state of emergency imposed on Rivers state, President Tinubu declared: “Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them. Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together. Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
“The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course, given stern orders to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers state and the oil pipelines.
“With all these and many more, no good and responsible president will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security”.
Threats by militant groups to intensify the bombing of pipelines and other oil facilities have made it imperative for the federal government to wade in and take remedial measures to avert further destruction of oil installations. In the absence of genuine and concerted efforts at combating the breakdown of law and order by parties in the crisis, President Tinubu has exercised his right as provided by Section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) to suspend the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has argued that the president’s imposition of a state of emergency is a gross violation of the constitutional threshold for suspending an elected government. The body of lawyers said Section 305 does not grant the right to the president to suspend elected officials, stressing that the only constitutional method for removing a governor or deputy governor is through impeachment as outlined in Section 188. Tinubu’s emergency declaration, the NBA further maintained, can only be deemed to be legally effective if the National Assembly grants approval within two days if in session, or 10 days if not.
Past efforts to resolve the Rivers state crisis, being political in nature, had failed. It requires a political solution in order to avert further escalation of the crisis. We commend President Tinubu for finally stepping in to save the situation. What is needed now is for the new sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd), to quickly work and walk towards resolving the crisis without pandering to any political interest. The sole administrator should carry all groups along and ensure that justice is served to all parties, no matter whose ox is gored.