Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fiercely criticized General Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, labeling it a clear act of “political manipulation and outright bad faith.”
In a scathing tweet on Tuesday, the 2023 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate accused Tinubu of playing a partisan role in the ongoing political crisis in the state.
The state of emergency, announced by Tinubu during a national broadcast, was justified under Section 305 of the Constitution. It suspends Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months. In their place, Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd.) as Sole Administrator to oversee state affairs, with the judiciary remaining operational. While the Administrator cannot enact new laws, he is empowered to issue regulations pending approval from the Federal Executive Council.
Tinubu defended the move as an “inevitable intervention” aimed at restoring peace and order in Rivers. However, Atiku painted a starkly different picture, accusing the president of either deliberately ignoring or actively contributing to the escalating tensions in the oil-rich state.
“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith,” Atiku wrote. “Anyone paying attention knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the turmoil engulfing Rivers. His blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is disgraceful.”
Atiku further held Tinubu accountable for security breaches that have led to the destruction of critical national infrastructure in Rivers, arguing that the chaos reflects a failure of leadership. “Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent,” he said. “It is an unforgivable failure that under his watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into violent unrest, undoing years of progress secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.”
The former vice president described the emergency declaration as a punishment for the people of Rivers, driven by political gamesmanship between Tinubu’s allies and Governor Fubara. “This is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he added.
The crisis in Rivers stems from a deepening rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Wike has accused Fubara of attempting to dismantle his “political structure” in the state, fueling the ongoing power struggle.
