Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing the move as “political manipulation and outright bad faith.”
In a tweet on Tuesday, the 2023 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate accused President Tinubu of being “a vested partisan actor” in the political crisis in Rivers State.
President Tinubu had earlier announced the state of emergency during a national broadcast, citing Section 305 of the Constitution.
The declaration suspends Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state’s House of Assembly for six months.
The president further appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd.) as the SOle Administrator to manage state affairs, though the judicial arm will continue functioning normally.
The Administrator will be unable to make new laws but can formulate regulations subject to Federal Executive Council approval.
Tinubu expressed hope that this “inevitable intervention” would help restore peace and order in Rivers.
But reacting, Atiku slammed Tinubu’s “blatant refusal or calculated negligence” in preventing the escalation of tensions in the oil-rich state.
Atiku wrote, “The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith.
“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.
“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 @officialABAT ’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”
The crisis between Governor Fubara and some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly started amid the rift between Fubara and his predecessor and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Wike had claimed that the protracted fight was because of Fubara’s attempt to hijack his “political structure” in Rivers.
RIVERS: Atiku Slams Tinubu’s ‘Political Manipulation’ is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
