Atiku Abubakar:
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 Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms.
Atiku Abubakar
Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007
Abuja
18 March, 2025.
Chief Bode George:
“This is absolute armageddon. Total disrespect for constituted authority. The Constitution has been viciously violated.
“We can’t keep quiet. This is recklessness of the highest order. What did Fubara do? As the Commander-in-Chief, you gave Wike soldiers and security agents to try to destabilise Rivers State. The governor does not have powers over any security agency. Like a gentleman that he is, he kept his cool. Nobody has told me what the governor did to warrant this dictatorial emergency rule.
“What type of democracy is this in 2025? This is how it started in 1962 and 1983. This is a dress rehearsal of what Tinubu wants to do in 2027. 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?”.
