Atiku, Bode George tackle Tinubu on declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State

RReactions have continued to trail yesterday’s declaration of State of Emergency Rule in Rivers State with the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar condemning President Bola Tinubu’s action

He described the  decision as a politically motivated move designed to punish perceived opponents.

Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast Tuesday night, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months, citing escalating political tensions and security threats, including the bombing of an oil facility in the state.

But Abubakar, in a statement shortly after the President’s broadcast, rejected Tinubu’s justification for the action.

He said the President had been a partisan actor in the political feud between Fubara and the  Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike and had allowed the crisis to fester for political gain.

He also blamed the President for security failure that led to the destruction of oil facilities in the state.

“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.

Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent,” he wrote

Abubakar further accused Tinubu of weaponising the state of emergency to assert control over Rivers, warning that the move could set a dangerous precedent for democracy.

The former PDP presidential candidate also warned that Tinubu’s handling of the crisis could undo years of peace building efforts in the Niger Delta, likening the situation to the unrest seen before the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s amnesty programme.

“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 Wike who is a Federal Minister in his government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he added.

In his own reaction, former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode  George, condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State, declaring the pronouncement as absolute armageddon, total disrespect for constituted authority and vicious violation of the 1999 constitution.

Chief George said this in his reaction, in a statement, copy of which he made available to newsmen, describing the step taken by President Tinubu, who he alleged gave the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesome Wike, soldiers and security agents to try to destabilise Rivers State, as recklessness of the highest order, even as he queried: “What did Fubara do?”

The PDP chieftain asserted that Governor Fubara does not have powers over any security agency, saying that notwithstanding the state governor still kept his cool and, therefore, did not deserve what he termed dictatorial emergency rule foisted on the state.

George, while wondering what type of democracy was being displayed in 2025, warned that this was exactly how the whole thing started in 1962 and 1983, alleging that this is a dress rehearsal of what President Tinubu wanted to do in 2027 as ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) “wants to get all states through unconstitutional means.”

This State of Emergency is absolute balderdash. Did he get the approval of the National Assembly before his broadcast?

“What happened in Rivers before today was the hand of Esau and voice of Jacob.

“Why didn’t he declare a state of emergency in Lagos when the lawmakers were fighting? Why? Why did he invite Diete-Spiff and Niger Delta leaders last week when he knew where he was going? Is Tinubu now becoming a civilian dictator?” he queried.