The Federal Government says the decision by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a State Of Emergency in Rivers State is timely, stating that the decision was necessary to prevent a total collapse of governance in the oil-rich state.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, disclosed this known while addressing journalists at the State House in Abuja.
He emphasises that the president had exhausted all diplomatic efforts before taking the extraordinary step.
According to Fagbemi “I think the President has acted timeously. He has given opportunity to all the parties involved to make amends. Before then, he had assembled them, he had tried to mediate,”.
President Tinubu, had in a national broadcast on Tuesday, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
Citing prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats, he invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to declare a state of emergency.
The crisis in Rivers State, stemming from a power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, now-Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, had reportedly paralysed governance.
President Tinubu appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff, as the state’s sole administrator to restore stability.
The declaration has sparked debate, with critics questioning the necessity and legality of such a measure.
However, Fagbemi dismissed allegations that Wike was favoured in the decision, stating, “was Wike the one that asked the State Assembly to be demolished? I don’t see the hand of the Minister of the FCT in what happened.”
He further urged those aggrieved by the President’s decision to seek redress through the National Assembly.
