The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said that President Bola Tinubu has a major responsibility to forestall further chaos and anarchy in Rivers State by proclaiming a state of emergency.
The group argued that intelligence at the President’s exclusive disposal was sufficient justification for his decision to declare a state of emergency and also suspend democratic institutions there for six months.
This, according to TMSG, is a fallout of the reluctance of the two parties in the political crisis to work together despite a presidential intervention and a recent Supreme Court ruling.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG argued that the President was left with no choice but to constitutionally intervene and restore security, stability and order in the state.
It said: “Our position on President Bola Tinubu’s decision to impose a state of emergency and suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the House of Assembly is simple. The president acted proactively to defuse an already charged situation.
“This follows the hard-line positions and reluctance of both parties in the political crisis in Rivers state to heed the voice of reason and act to return the state to peaceful governance in the aftermath of the recent Supreme Court ruling.
“We note that before then, President Tinubu had in December 2023 intervened by brokering a peace deal between Governor Fubara and the state legislators.
“The deal which was tabled at a meeting in Abuja attended by key political stakeholders, was to have culminated in the governor recognizing and presenting the 2024 budget to the Martin Amaewhule-led assembly as well as reinstate the legislators’ remunerations and benefits while the Assembly members were to stop impeachment proceedings.
“Both sides were also to drop all pending court matters on the crisis. But to the surprise of many Nigerians, the parties stuck to their hard-line positions and failed to implement critical aspects of the peace deal.
“We were therefore surprised to see a claim by the former Rivers state Commissioner of Information that the governor implemented the President’s deal. So we wonder which one of the terms was implemented because the lawmakers have not had their benefits reinstated, and neither was the 2024 budget sent to them for approval.
“We invite Nigerians to also note that even when the Supreme Court ruled on the matter, there was still a reluctance from both parties to work in harmony until the state legislators began impeachment proceedings which could have worsened the situation.
“And indeed, the day after the impeachment notice was served, an explosion rocked the Trans-Niger Pipeline, one of Nigeria’s biggest oil pipelines, which feeds the crude export terminal at Bonny A similar incident was also recorded a few hours later in the evening at a manifold connected to a federal pipeline deep inside the forest.
“So for us, an extraordinary measure was necessary to restore governance and prevent further breakdown of law and order in Rivers State, as the President noted in his 12-minute national broadcast.
“From all indications, the President watched and waited patiently for 15 months as both parties engaged in unnecessary filibustering and reneging until the truce brokered by the president was broken.”
TMSG further argued that there was no basis for comparing the President’s action to that of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 at the height of the war against insurgency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
“We acknowledge that President Jonathan indeed declared a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa but left the governors in place. But let Nigerians not forget that it was a war situation, which is different from what we have in Rivers State.
“President Tinubu did not declare emergency rule in Rivers strictly because of security issues. He made it clear that his decision was necessary to restore peace, order, and governance in a state that had been embroiled in political turmoil for several months on end.
“So we believe that President Tinubu deserves credit for not only declaring a state of emergency but for also suspending the two parties for six months.
“We hope that it will give both parties enough time to ruminate and evaluate their actions since December 2023 and accept mediatory efforts they had shunned previously,” it added.
