₦airaland Forum

ABUJA – THE Federal Government on Wednesday said that the allocation for Rivers State will be released to the Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd).

The government also said President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State was timely and meant to avert an implosion in the state.

This is as it has said that the former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike has no role in the political crisis in Rivers State that culminated in the declaration of a state of emergency.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, stated this while briefing State House correspondents at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

While fielding questions on whether the Federal Government would release the allocation from the federation account to the state in view of the latest development, the Minister said if the administrator requests for it, it will be released to him.

“And to me, it will be in order for the release of that fund because the event of the extraordinary situation has brought them out of the normal situation of things.”

He justified the decision of the President to declare a state of emergency in the state.
According to him, “We have about two years into the administration in the state.

“Now, when do you think he (President Tinubu) should have come in? Is it when everything has been destroyed? I don’t think so.

“I think the President has acted timeously. He has given the opportunity to all the parties involved, to make amends. Before then, he had to assemble them, he had tried to mediate,” he stated.

President Tinubu had on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending 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.

In a national broadcast, Tinubu cited prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats as reasons for the extraordinary measure.

The crisis, which had paralysed governance in the oil-rich state, stems from a power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

As part of the directive, the President also appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.) as the sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs until normalcy is restored. Ibas served as Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu announced, “In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, March 18, 2025 and I so do.

“By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.

“In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd.) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function by their constitutional mandate.”

— Warns other states not to dare FG

THE Attorney General of the Federation, AGF and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on Wednesday, alleged that Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State tele-guided militants to blow up pipelines in the state.

The AGF made the accusation while rationalizing President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency following the protracted political crisis in the state.

He said if the governor was not culpable, he did not also do anything to dissuade the militants from taking action against the critical national infrastructure.

He said: “We are in a democracy. So now then, there were what I will call telegraphing of the militants, I will say, by the governor. And the reason I said so was when he began, he said oh, he will let them know when it was time to act to the militant.

“Let us say it was wrong. Did he come out to disown them? The answer is no. And a week after, they swung into action, you see or witness vandalization of oil pipelines.”

Noting that the nation’s almost totally rely on oil, he said for anyone to touch the pipeline, he is not only an enemy of Rivers but Nigeria.

He said that the judgment of the Supreme Court was the base upon which Tinubu imposed the state of emergency in Rivers State to protect the critical infrastructure in the state.

The AGF observed that the governor and the members of the state house of assembly had to be suspended because they had failed to ensure a conducive atmosphere for governance in the state.

He pushed back on criticisms that the president’s action was hasty noting that people were living in fear while others were dying.

He said both the Governor and his deputy were suspended because it is an extraordinary situation.

He faulted the argument in some quarters that the Supreme Court in previous judgement on the declaration of State of emergency in states, stressing that situations and events were different.

The AGF said the ball is now in the court of the National Assembly who he said could reverse the suspensions by denying it the two-thirds majority to ratify the action.

He also said that the declaration of State of emergency in Rivers State was a warning signal to other states, giving the impression that the government would invoke stricter sanctions.

The Rivers State House of Assembly has endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the state.

This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, by the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule.

Amaewhule said the Assembly would abide by the president’s decision, even though it was not what they had hoped for.

“We assure our constituents that we will abide by this declaration, even though it is not what we prayed for. Mr. President has acted in the best interest of the country,” Amaewhule said.

The Speaker blamed Governor Siminalayi Fubara for the crisis in Rivers State, accusing him of ignoring court judgments and failing to govern in line with the constitution.

“The condition of our dear Rivers State today is mainly because of the malfeasance of the governor, who serially disobeyed court judgments and obstructed the Rivers State House of Assembly,” he stated.

Amaewhule called on residents to remain calm and cooperate with the Sole Administrator appointed by the president to oversee the affairs of the state.

“We urge everyone to remain calm as the Sole Administrator assumes duty. Rest assured that the Assembly will give him all the necessary support to restore order,” he added.

The Speaker also thanked the people of the state for their patience, prayers and support during this period of emergency.

On Tuesday, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months.

He said the decision was taken to restore stability in the state that has been witnessing political turmoil as a result of the disagreement between the state governor and the state lawmakers.

Following his declaration, the president appointed a former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Ibokette Ibas, as an administrator for Rivers State.

Eriokanmi:
I understand that. I'm only harping on the law makers defection, which will be decided at the party level..the mata never finish. The Court is already aware of the case. Before you can say you're leaving a party, there must have been crises ongoing, right? Though demolition was one of the reasons they claimed, fubara stated the reason for doing this even though you and I know it's politically motivated lol. Remember the edo's lawmakers case under obaseki? The rivers law makers said they're leaving and sent a letter to the governor, duly signed. That's a sure evidence to nail them. Let's see what happens in coming days.

Eriokanmi:
Hope you got my point. Demolition of building or not. You cannot tell your employer say you no do again, com submit a resignation letter duly signed by you and your employer com sign an acknowledgement copy. And the same you, now say you wan go back there , go work. Whatever you do or did with your life after leaving the company is none of your former employer's business(whether you remained unemployed but lied to yourfriends you're working at Guinness, or you joined another company).

Did they resign due to building demolished? That's a different case. Fubara had stated the reason for the demolition ,even though it's politically motivated. Court dwells on evidence, not story or emotions.

ddippset:
Meaning what?

At least we all have brains to reason for ourselves.

This one is not law not but logic.

How does this make sense to anyone?

Eriokanmi:
Court dwells on evidence to adjudicate as you know. They all submitted a written letter with their signatures well appended to Fubara, ceasing to be members of the PDP. Even if they're not card carrying or registered members of the apc or any political party, the road is clear enough. That will be used against them.

It's just like you resigning from working with a company. Whichever company you joined or whatever you do with your life subsequently is none of your ex-empkoyer's business. You cannot resign and now want to come back to work. That letter you submitted is enough to nail you, should you wish to play smart.

When the supreme court said the law makers aren't members of the apc, the court was right. They're also not members of the pdp. The letters they submitted is a proof.

CaptainGo:
Based on Number 1, is the HOA the building or the elected legislators?

franugo:
I do have issues with the supreme Court judgement, does it mean that they no longer recognize a sworn affidavit from a valid court as a legal document? The part about the lawmakers not being in apc member register is not really important here, the issue at hand was about whether there is evidence that they defected from pdp, not on whether they're registered in apc. Nevertheless, the supreme Court have given their judgement, however flawed it is, and has to be obeyed.

Acidosis:
His advisers are obviously better than you who think the position of a governor should be decided by one man in a state with over 7 million people.

Former governor of Osun State, Bisi Akande, has revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari wasn’t comfortable having his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, go head-to-head with President Bola Tinubu for the sole presidential ticket at the 2022 primaries of the All Progressives Congress.

The pioneer national chairman of the APC disclosed this on a podcast anchored by a popular broadcaster, Edmund Obilo.

Akande recalled that the former VP did not step down for Tinubu, despite efforts to avoid bitterness among Yoruba contenders.

When asked if Buhari opposed Tinubu’s candidacy, Akande shook his head.

“He didn’t tell me so,” he said. “I asked him many questions, including whether he instigated Osinbajo to contest against Tinubu. He said no and explained that, in his culture, when your mentor is interested in a position, you don’t contest with him.”

In the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Tinubu polled 1,271 votes to clinch the party’s ticket.

The APC national leader defeated 13 other aspirants, including Osinbajo, to emerge as the APC flag-bearer at the end of the Special National Convention of the party in Abuja.