The Presidency has alleged that militants in Rivers State were on standby, awaiting directives from Governor Siminalayi Fubara to launch attacks on oil pipelines before President Bola Tinubu foiled their plans by declaring emergency rule in the state.
The state of emergency was declared on March 18. Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the Constitution and appointed retired Chief of Naval Staff Ibok-Ette Ibas as the state’s sole administrator. The National Assembly approved the emergency rule two days later, despite opposition from some lawmakers.
The emergency rule suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
According to President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, his principal’s intervention prevented threat to the country’s oil production and economic stability.
Onanuga stated this in an opinion piece defending the declaration of the state of emergency in the oil-rich state amidst criticism from different quarters.
According to him, intelligence reports confirmed that militants had been mobilised and were waiting for Fubara’s signal before carrying out the attacks.
Onanuga stressed that President Tinubu’s action was justified by the political crisis between Governor Fubara and the state House of Assembly which had spiraled out of control and grounded governance in the.
“A responsible leader like President Tinubu, who swore an oath to protect the constitution and corporate existence of the country, can not fail to act when a constituent part of the Federation is careering towards the precipice. The political crisis in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly who owe allegiance to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that blew open barely six months into the administration of the Governor has degenerated by 18 March. A chain of events since the war of attrition started 14 months ago among the combatants had indeed paralysed the government of Rivers State to the point where Fubara, copying from the bad book of former Governor Obaseki in Edo, emasculated an arm of government entirely. This reality informed the Supreme Court’s damning verdict about the absence of government in the State as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, as amended. The court also excoriated Fubara for acting like a despot.
“Rivers was in a grave situation, as the combatants refused to allow reason to prevail, even after the Supreme Court judgment, before President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on 18 March. The President took action in the best interest of the people of the State, who had become victims of the warring politicians, the people they elected to serve them. President Tinubu needed to act. He chose prevention over cure,” he wrote.
Onanuga reaffirmed that President Tinubu’s actions were in line with his constitutional responsibility to maintain national stability.
He dismissed claims that the intervention undermined democracy, arguing instead that it was meant to preserve democracy.
“Section 305 of Nigeria’s Constitution empowers the President to act when the nation faces a breakdown of law, order, and economic security —precisely the case in Rivers, a bastion of Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy. Intelligence confirmed militants, told by Fubara to await signals, were already targeting pipelines, risking a collapse in output and a Niger-Delta domino effect.
“Historical precedents, such as the past emergencies in Plateau and Borno and the doctrine of necessity, support the President’s proactive measures to avert disaster. The President’s oath demands he must not fail in his sacred duty to safeguard national stability, not watch idly as partisan strife strangles our democracy and the material well-being of Nigerians, whose prosperity depends on the social and economic interdependence of every part of the country. Rivers State is a significant hydrocarbon economic artery in Nigeria, and any dislocation and politically motivated disruption of the oil industry in the state will have ripple effects on the national economy,” he wrote.
Responding to critics of Tinubu’s action, Onanuga added: “Critics claim the emergency rule in Rivers undermines democracy. Their position misrepresents reality. The intervention is temporary, surgical, and aimed at restoring—not replacing—democratic institutions. The suspension of political actors for six months is no power grab; it is not a permanent removal but a reset to disarm warring factions. Notably, the same critics who assailed the President’s action for suspending the political actors remain silent on Governor Fubara’s refusal to collaborate with the legislature, exposing their partisan bias. Democracy can not thrive amid lawlessness—anarchy.”
Tinubu’s action had drawn criticism from former President Goodluck Jonathan and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka.
Jonathan, speaking at the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium in Abuja, condemned the suspension of democratic governance in the state.
He expressed disappointment that elected officials, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly, were removed from office.
Jonathan warned that such actions could damage Nigeria’s reputation and deter investment, blaming all three arms of government for engaging in abuse of power.
“These actions by key actors in the executive and legislative arms of government paint the country in a negative light,” Jonathan, who was the chairman of the colloquium, said.
“The key actors in Nigeria from the executive to the legislature and the judiciary know the correct thing to do but they are refusing to do it; they are pretending to sleep, and waking such a person is extremely difficult because the person knows the right thing.
“A clear abuse of offices, clear abuse of power, clear abuse of privileges, cutting across the three arms of government — from the executive through the parliament and to the judiciary,” Jonathan said.
Soyinka had also criticised the move in an interview The Africa Report, saying the emergency rule was against the principles of federalism.
He argued that the 1999 Constitution grants excessive powers to the president and called for a national discussion to amend the Constitution to ensure true federalism.
In response, President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, dismissed the criticisms as personal opinions.
“Professor Wole Soyinka and former President Goodluck Jonathan are respected statesmen. Like many Nigerians that have offered varied opinions on the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, the two distinguished Nigerians have also offered their own opinions too.
“President Tinubu has a country to govern, and he has exercised his power under the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“President Tinubu has a duty to preserve the corporate existence of Nigeria. He won’t allow any part of the country or state to descend into chaos.
“The Supreme Court ruled that there is no functioning government in Rivers State known to the constitution of Nigeria. President Tinubu won’t fail in his sacred duty to protect and preserve the country,” said Ajayi.
How Militants Backed By Fubara Attacked Oil Pipelines — Presidency is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
