•President not sincere in his claims against Fubara —Okaba, president, INC
•Ibas will account for his deeds in Rivers — HRH Sara-Igbe, Ijaw leader
•What they cooked up about Fubara, Rivers people —Briggs, N-Delta activist
•Irrational to say the president distorted facts — Robinson, ex-PANDEF spokesperson; Edore, activist
By Emma Amaize, South-South Regional Editor, Sam Oyadongha, Jimitota Onoyume, Ozioruva Aliu, Chioma Onuegbu, Dan Abia, and Ochuko Akuopha
Ten days after Rivers State Governor Dr. Siminalayi Fubara was suspended and a state of emergency was declared, Ijaw leaders in the Niger Delta assessed the situation over the weekend and concluded that President Bola Tinubu had been misled.
The president of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the apex socio-cultural organization of the Ijaw ethnic nationality, Prof. Benjamin Okaba; renowned Niger-Delta activist Ann-kio Briggs; Ijaw leader HRH Anabs Sara-Igb; and HRH King-jerry Prebor (snr), the Amanana-owei of the Meinbutus Federated Communities, dug into the matter to uncover the truth and lies.
Ex-publicity secretary of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and leader of the Concerned Rivers Citizens group, Ken Robinson, and a Delta State-born human rights activist, Comrade Felix Edore, however, disagreed that anybody led Tinubu astray and twisted facts.
They pulled the wool over the president’s eyes —Prof. Okaba, president, INC
The president of the INC, Prof. Okaba, told Saturday Vanguard, “Our findings show that the blowing up of the pipelines before the declaration was all part of their grand plan. They sent their boys to blow up the pipelines. Otherwise, why have more facilities not been blown since the declaration? They have achieved their plot, hence a ceasefire. Ijaws are not taking this lightly; we are committed to uncovering the truth and will not only share our comprehensive findings in due course but may also seek legal redress if this injustice is not addressed within the shortest time. Governor Fubara had awarded a contract, and the reconstruction of the House of Assembly was ongoing.
Claim on militants’ attacks inconsistent
“On the purported explosion of pipelines by militants, the INC is deeply concerned about the conflicting reports regarding the recent attacks on oil facilities in Rivers State. Subsequent findings have contradicted the initial attribution to militants. We urge the federal government to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to ascertain the perpetrators of these acts before taking one-sided actions. We hope President Tinubu is not squandering the goodwill he enjoys from the South-South. Suspension of a governor because of hearsay is not how the country should be governed; comprehensive assessment of issues and well-advised actions are the way to go.
Set up a committee of ex-presidents and vice-presidents to resolve the crisis
“Ibas is sitting on illegality; the president must withdraw his state of emergency, instruct Wike and Fubara to abate all pending court cases and impeachment notices, and ban Fubara and Wike from making any statement or taking any actions on the crisis while he sets up a high-powered committee of former presidents and vice presidents to mediate on the matter and resolve it once and for all.
The Supreme Court ruled that if the executive presented a budget to the House of Assembly and the lawmakers approved it, the governor of Rivers State could legally spend state funds. The federal government’s handling of the Supreme Court’s decision worries the INC. The appointment of a sole administrator and the subsequent release of funds without deference to the judiciary set a concerning precedent. We emphasize the importance of upholding the rule of law and respecting judicial decisions to maintain the integrity of our democratic institutions. Why would a president who asked PANDEF to prevail on the governor to adhere to the Supreme Court judgment be the one to renege on the same judgment? Releasing money to an illegal administrator in flagrant disobedience to the Supreme Court order is an impeachable offense.
Broad-based dissatisfaction
“Many right-thinking Nigerians from the North to the South, including former President Goodluck Jonathan and Tinubu’s ally, Professor Wole Soyinka, have described the declaration of a state of emergency and the suspension of Governor Fubara as executive rascality, abuse of power, and a breach of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution. The public criticism signifies a broad-based discontent with the federal government’s handling of the situation in Rivers State. Their voices amplify the concerns of many Nigerians and underscore the need for a review of the current approach to ensure justice, equity, and stability in the region. The INC has repeatedly said the same.
The many lies about Fubara, Rivers people — Ann-Kio Briggs, N’Delta activist
Legendary Niger Delta activist Ann-Kio Briggs categorically stated that President Bola Tinubu suspended the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, based on wrong information he got about Fubara.
Her words: “Not only was the president given wrong information, all along, the president has been lied to.
It seems the president has never been to Rivers State, so he talks and listens to the people who claim they support him, as if Rivers State people and Ijaw do not support him, which is a big lie. Like we saw, it was God who took the sole administrator to go and look at the House of Assembly complex, which is over 80 percent completed, and Fubara had already paid the cost in full.
“To have anchored the suspension on the claim that he destroyed the complex, which is not proved, and did nothing to provide an alternative place, is a lie.”
Briggs stated that they also lied to the president about the security situation, explaining that the state had been peaceful and still is peaceful. She expressed worries that the sole administrator has removed all the people appointed to offices by the governor, adding that Fubara would sack all the people being brought into office upon resumption.
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“The president said there was a crisis in the state, indicating insecurity in Rivers State. That, too, was a lie. There was no insecurity. Under the circumstances in which we are operating – the governor of Rivers State is under suspension, all the appointments made by the governor have been cancelled, and new people are coming—it begins to agitate a reasonable person’s mind. If you say you are suspending him for six months, and assuming you revisit the issue, why are the people being removed?
Fubara will remove all the people Ibas appointed when he returns
“Not only was our money withheld and now given to the sole administrator, but you also removed people. When Fubara returns, he will remove all the people the sole administrator is putting there because what he is doing is dangerous.
“Why is this uncertainty being created in Rivers State? What have we done as a people? If the president looks back, he would see that everybody is saying he did the wrong thing; the only ones who say that what he did is right are those who claim to support him in Rivers. Are strangers the ones that will come in and deliver the president in 2027 if he is re-contesting for a second tenure? It cannot be.
“The president has been unjust and unfair. Nobody is infallible, so if the president acted based on wrong information, that is a great precedent. He should re-appraise and say he made the decision acting on wrong information, and based on that, the suspension is lifted. We will see him as a great president.”
Briggs regretted that the president had not adhered to the rule of law in handling the political crisis in the state, adding that the sole administrator was going on with illegalities.
“By what is happening in Rivers State, it can be deduced that the rule of law in this instance has not been adhered to. The Supreme Court said the state should receive its money only when the governor presents a budget to the House of Assembly and it is approved. How did the president release Rivers’ money to a sole administrator against the law? We, the Rivers people, are angry.
Where does the administrator derive the power to appoint LG chairs?
“Secondly, we hear, but it is not proven, that the sole administrator is preparing to appoint local government chairmen. We ask where he derives the power to appoint local government chairmen. The Supreme Court has said local government chairmen should be elected, not appointed, or interim chairmen.
“If we have voted, and the Supreme Court said all that was null and void, and the governor removed all the chairmen we voted for, and now the sole administrator wants to appoint local government chairmen, where is the sole administrator getting his powers from? Who told him that he can come to Rivers State and handpick a local government chairman against the law?
“If a governor has been suspended, we hear that the picture of our governor has been removed from the Government House. That is something that will agitate the people of Rivers State. Fubara is not fired; he is on suspension, and everybody has said the suspension is illegal.
“In all that is happening in Rivers State, it is only the president who can bring answers to all the questions. As of now, reasons have shown that there are no facts to suspend the governor of Rivers State. There was no insecurity and blowing up pipelines in Rivers State, and the companies have said nothing was blown up. When you look at all these things, some people do these things to pin everything on the governor. If you know Rivers State, you will understand that the level of calm in the state now is because the suspended governor is a man of peace, and his followers toe the path he has shown them.
We can’t have two governors in Rivers
“I call on the president to consider all these and let peace reign. We cannot have two governors in this state. The sole administrator should stop seeing himself as the governor of Rivers State; he is not.
“The interpretation of the Rivers people themselves is that they are under military rule in a civilian and democratic dispensation. Boko Haram has sacked many people in Borno State; yet, they are not under military rule. Why should we be under military rule?”
Ibas will account for his activities in Rivers — HRH Sara-Igbe, Ijaw leader
“The president has violated multiple provisions of the constitution, from declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State to unlawfully giving the state allocation to the sole administrator, without legal recognition,” responded HRH Sara-Igbe, a prominent Ijaw leader and PANDEF chieftain.
According to him, “The Supreme Court held that money will not be released until the 2025 budget has been presented to a properly constituted House of Assembly. Fubara made several attempts to submit the budget but was frustrated by the 27 lawmakers. Did the president go back to consult the Supreme Court before he ordered the release of the money? The sole administrator should exercise caution, as he will soon be held accountable for his actions in Rivers State. We will fight against releasing that money because it is illegal”.
Tinubu was misled, says HRH Prebor (snr), Amanana-owei of Meinbutus communities
The Amanana-owei of the Meinbutus Federated Communities, HRH Prebor (snr.), told Saturday Vanguard, “The president’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State was an orchestrated plan to turn the country into a one-party state. You levelled several allegations to suspend Governor Fubara. You accused the governor of demolishing the House of Assembly complex, but you did not realize that the complex is already 80 percent completed.
“The second accusation is that he turned a blind eye to the militants’ activities threatening national security and that he is high-handed and a despot, but the truth came out: it was an act of sabotage by some individuals and had no connection with the governor. The humble governor has disbursed all the money for the House of Assembly complex. Governor Fubara obeyed the Supreme Court judgment and went to the House of Assembly to present the budget, but they locked him out. The next thing, the lawmakers gave him a notice of impeachment. Your declaration of emergency is not totally out of place, but sparing the Minister of the FCT was biased.
“You were misinformed with all sorts of lies, and without verification, you suspended the elected governor.
Red herring to hijack funds for 2027—Amaebi, MOSIEND ex-spokesperson
A former national spokesperson of the Movement for the Survival of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND), Clarkson Amaebi, stated, “The president’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State was a deliberate and conscious political decision to enable him to have a firm grip on Rivers State.
Recall that from 2003 to the 2023 presidential elections, Rivers State has been pivotal in producing the president. The state’s financial involvement and logistics are a notorious fact. Take a cursory look at ex-governor Peter Odili, in the Obasanjo’s second tenure election in 2003, Rotimi Amechi’s role in the 2015 election that produced Muhammadu Buhari, and Wike’s visibility in the emergence of Bola Tinubu in 2023.
“It all points to the fact that Rivers State is a factor in a smooth presidential campaign. President Tinubu, as an old warhorse, knows this fact, so he needed to bring Rivers State under his nose. All the reasons he reeled out for the state of emergency were to justify his action.
Hurried actions based on half-truths
The reason that Rivers State was on the verge of boiling was not true. Contrary to that assertion, Rivers State was peaceful; even when there was an attempt to provoke or stimulate a crisis in the Abalama community, the state remained calm.
“It is now clear that the allegation was a farce and has become an embarrassment to the presidency. The reference to the Supreme Court judgment that there was no government in Rivers State, which was one of the reasons adduced by the president for the declaration of the state of emergency and echoed by Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation, has turned out to be quoted out of context.
“I am persuaded that the decision was not anchored on security but purely political considerations for the 2027 elections. The president’s speedy release of the withheld funds of the state to the sole administrator a day after the proclamation, without reference to the Supreme Court, smacks of double standards and points to the fact that the decision to suspend Fubara is political.
“It is an aberration, a disdain, and a spite on the Rivers people. How can the president single-handedly hand over the statutory funds of the Rivers people to an individual without their mandate to manage such funds?
“The sole administrator reports to Tinubu, who gives directives on how Rivers’ monies should be expended for the next six months. Invariably, the president controls the federal government’s and Rivers State’s allocations. And he owes no explanation to the Rivers people; this is an impunity of the highest order.
President Tinubu should, as a matter of urgency, repudiate his decision by listening to elder statesmen like Goodluck Jonathan and Prof. Wole Soyinka, who have cautioned him on the extreme undemocratic route he has embarked upon. The Jonathan and Soyinka interventions are significant, and he should see it as a reminder to act justly in resolving the Rivers cauldron.
They told the president lies — Comrade Imeabe, SSYI president
The president of the South-South Youths Initiative (SSYI), an umbrella youth group, Imeabe Saviour, asserted, “The president was wrongly informed that Governor Fubara was not doing anything to rebuild the State House of Assembly complex. Now, the sole administrator appointed by the president paid a visit to the state House of Assembly and confirmed that the complex is near completion. Now that the president has realized that the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, deceived him, since he has become aware that the state House of Assembly is near completion, should he not go back, reverse his decision, call back the people’s governor, and ask the sole administrator to step aside?
“Mr. President was also informed wrongly that there were shootings in Rivers State. This was also part of the reasons for the emergency declaration. Now that the sole administrator has gone around the state and witnessed the calm and peace in the state, with no crisis or shooting anywhere, can Ibas say there is a crisis? This indicates that every piece of information provided to the president was false. Can the president now call back the governor since it is obvious that they fed him lies? If he does not rescind his suspension of the governor, it simply means that the youths of the South-South and the people of the South-South will not in any way vote for him in 2027. He simply does not have good intentions for the people of the Niger Delta if he continues to act with this degree of impunity against Rives State.
In contrast to the president’s assertion, the governor has begun implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling. He even removed the elected chairmen of the state’s twenty-three local government areas, even though the ruling did not require him to. He informed the House of Assembly that he would visit to deliver the budget. They denied him entry, after which he rewrote them, and the assembly adjourned sine die without replying.
Ibas should step down
“We are not comfortable and call on the sole administrator to resign now that he has witnessed peace and observed that there is no insecurity in the state. We know he retired as a vice admiral in the Nigerian Navy and is respected at home and abroad; we advise that he should not allow the case in Rivers State to tarnish his hard-earned reputation. He should resign and maintain his good legacy.
“The Supreme Court said that until the state government presents the 2025 budget to the assembly, it should not release the state’s allocation. But the sole administrator resumed, and the president released the allocation without a budget, which usurped the place of the suspended state assembly.
It is evident that the president and the FCT minister are not interested in the welfare of the people but in their selfish interests. The youths of the region will rise and resist this impunity. If the sole administrator does not want youths in the region and state to be lawless, he should also step down from the lawless position he occupies.”
President misinformed —Inwalomhe, public affairs analyst
The executive director of the Justice Research Centre (JRC) in Edo State and a public affairs analyst, Donald Inwalomhe, said, “Fubara has started rebuilding the state House of Assembly even though the president, in his broadcast, claimed otherwise. The demolition is justifiable because that was the day he was to be impeached.
President Tinubu was misinformed about the planned attack on oil facilities. Why is it that President Tinubu refused to declare a state of emergency in some states in the North-West and North-East after getting security reports about bandits and ISWAP? Bandits and ISWAP closed over 1000 schools in northern Nigeria, and President Tinubu has not declared a state of emergency.
Section 305 of the 1999 constitution does not recommend the suspension of a governor and the state House of Assembly. President Tinubu effected a constitutional coup in Rivers State, using Section 305 of the Constitution. The implications of ex-President Jonathan’s and Wole Soyinka’s statements are that President Tinubu is now a dictator who controls the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
Tinubu deceived Nigerians with the Supreme Court judgment on Rivers State. The appointment of a sole administrator in Rivers State is strange to the 1999 Constitution. Nigeria’s judiciary has become a department of the APC-led federal government under the Tinubu administration.
President Tinubu is implementing a court judgment in the Osun State local government crisis while defying a court judgment in the Edo State local government crisis. Juxtapose the measure President Tinubu took when the Lagos State House of Assembly impeached their speaker and what he did in the Rivers case.”
Glaring deceptions against Fubara – Chinedu, zonal chair, CLO, S-South
Confirming the state of construction of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex, the South-South zonal chairman of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Comrade Karl Chinedu, said, “It is clear that the president was given wrong information about the situation in Rivers State. That complex is about 70 percent complete.
Why did they then lie to the president that Governor Sim Fubara did not care to reconstruct it after demolition? It tells how many lies they cooked against the government and Fubara.”
It’s wrong to say president was misinformed —Robinson, ex-PANDEF spokesperson
The immediate past publicity secretary of PANDEF and convener of a group, Concerned Citizens of Rivers State, Dr. Ken Robinson, defended the president, saying, “Concerning the issue of the bombing of critical facilities following the political crisis in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu has security personnel across the country that give him intelligence reports. So it may be out of place to say that the president was misinformed or twisted the truth.
The reality was that there was a threat to the economy. The people made statements that ordinarily should not have been made. People made threats that the critical infrastructure could not be guaranteed. They may have made those statements out of anger, emotions, and all of that, but obviously, they may not have been the ones that had carried out the threat because there are criminal elements in society who take advantage of any crisis, which is why, as leaders, we should be careful about our public statements.
Nobody knows what would have happened by now because the state House of Assembly had served notice of misconduct on the governor, and there were threats of violence if the lawmakers impeached Governor Fubara. No sensitive government will allow that kind of situation to continue.”
The President not misinformed —Edore activist
An activist in Agbarho, Ughelli North local government, Delta State, Comrade Felix Edore, said nobody misinformed Mr. President before his proclamation and urged all sides in the political crisis to use the six months to find a common ground.
His words: “I do not think Mr. President was misinformed with the security report on the alleged explosions on oil facilities and the demolition of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex. He has several security and private channels to confirm issues. The emergency rule was a necessary evil. It will reduce tension and give room for political solutions.
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