RIVERS EMERGENCY RULE: Okpebholo Faults Jonathan

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State got more backing at the weekend.

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo lashed out at former President Goodluck Jonathan for criticising the presidential action.

Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris defended the “painful but responsible” action.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said a Rivers State without the emergency declaration, given the way things were going, could be better imagined.

Dr. Jonathan, speaking at the weekend, described the emergency declaration in Rivers as an abuse of power.

He went ahead to blame everybody, saying: “The executive, legislature and the judiciary know the correct thing to do but they are refusing to do it.”

Okpebholo, speaking during the kick-off of the 125-kilometre Benin-Auchi road yesterday, described ex-President Jonathan as not decisive when he was President, hence, his criticism of the proactive step by President Tinubu.

He said the declaration of emergency had saved Nigeria’s economy.

The governor said: “The man criticising President Tinubu did not take a similar step when he heard that they were going to kidnap the Chibok girls in 2014. It is better for a President to be proactive. The single decision taken by President Tinubu saved the economy of Nigeria.”

The Edo Governor added: “What President Tinubu did in Rivers State is a welcome development, to ensure peace in the Niger Delta.

“The decision he took to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State is in the best interest of Nigerians.

“When crude oil pipelines in Rivers State were being blown by militants, what did Nigerians expect Mr. President to do on the nation’s economic sustenance?”

Continuing, Okpebholo said: “When Jonathan was Nigeria’s President, the country’s total annual budget was not more than N1.6 trillion, but the N1.6 trillion is what we are sharing monthly (from the Federation Account) in this nation today. That is a man that has vision.”

It was the second time in five days that Okpebholo would back the presidential action.

On Thursday, he dissociated himself from the criticism of the presidential action by the Southsouth Governors Caucus.

He thanked the President for the ongoing Federal road projects in the state, adding that when Dr. Jonathan, a son of the Niger Delta, was President, Edo was not remembered.

Minister defends Tinubu

Idris told The Nation last night that: “The president has no intention whatsoever to take over the governance of Rivers State. He has no intention to appoint a governor for Rivers State.

“Rivers belongs to the people of the state. Just like all the other states of the federation have their governors and are functioning, the President also wants Rivers to function effectively.”

The minister explained that President Tinubu took a “very responsible but very painful decision” as governance in the state had collapsed.

He explained that the House of Assembly was non-functional, while the executive branch was facing serious difficulties.

“The way democracy is designed is that the three arms of government must work together, and one will be checking the other.

“So, we cannot have just the executive functioning and say we have a functional democracy.

“We didn’t have that, and therefore, the president had to act,” he said.

Idris stressed that President Tinubu relied on constitutional provisions to exercise his powers, emphasising that the situation had reached a critical point that necessitated urgent intervention.

“Those who designed our constitution envisaged that this kind of situation could arise, and that was why they made the provision for it.

“The President relied on the constitution to exercise his powers and take action,” he stated.

According to him, the President acted in the best interest of Rivers people to prevent further descent into chaos and violence.

“It would have been irresponsible for the president to allow the slide into violence that we were seeing in Rivers State.

“At what point would he have intervened? The president had to responsibly step in to ensure that law and order, and governance, were restored in the interest of the people of Rivers State.”

The minister assured that the President will not keep the emergency rule in place longer than necessary.

“As soon as he assesses that sanity has returned to Rivers State, he will ensure the restoration of all democratic structures,” Idris assured.

‘Imagine Rivers State without emergency’

Onanuga, in an article on the Presidential declaration, wondered what Rivers would have become had President Tinubu hesitated to declare a state of emergency.

The political standoff between the State Assembly and Governor Siminalayi Fubara could have continued and degenerated into violence, he said.

Impeachment threats, he said, might have spurred attacks on lawmakers by the governor’s supporters, while militants in the creeks—primed to sabotage critical oil infrastructure—could have plunged Nigeria’s oil production back to pre-2023 lows.

Onanuga said sensational reporting of the crisis and opportunistic litigation would have inflamed tensions further, paralysing governance and risking lives.

“Schools and hospitals would shutter; investors would flee. We can only imagine the human and economic toll.

“Today, thanks to the president’s intervention, Rivers State can breathe again.

“Political tensions have eased, banal headlines have quietened, and stakeholders—encouraged by the newly-appointed administrator—are charting a path to lasting peace.

“Critics who argue the crisis ‘did not yet warrant’ emergency rule ignore a stark truth: waiting for the breakdown of law and order to escalate into anarchy before acting is like withholding firefighters until a house burns to ashes.

“A responsible leader like President Tinubu, who swore an oath to protect the constitution and corporate existence of the country, cannot fail to act when a constituent part of the Federation is careering towards the precipice.”