By Ayo Kehinde
The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has strongly condemned the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as an unconstitutional move designed to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara and hand control of the state to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, leaders of the regional groups, including HRH Oba Oladipo Olaitan (Afenifere), Dr. Bitrus Pogu (Middle Belt Forum), Senator John Azuta Mbata (Ohanaeze Ndigbo), and Ambassador Godknows Igali (PANDEF), alleged that the emergency rule was a premeditated plot executed in collaboration with the President.
According to the statement, the allegations in the impeachment notice served on Fubara and his deputy were mere fabrications intended to justify Tinubu’s takeover of the Rivers government.
The leaders argued that the 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) had lost their legitimacy and were being used as pawns in a broader scheme to install Wike’s loyalists in power.
“The world is not deceived. The declaration of a state of emergency is simply a formalization of the impeachment conspiracy. The so-called House of Assembly, which published the impeachment notice, consists of defectors to the President’s party, and their actions are part of a grand plot to seize Rivers State,”the statement read.
They accused Tinubu of unfairly blaming Fubara for security lapses in the state while ignoring his own administration’s failure to prevent pipeline vandalization and militant activities.
The SMBLF dismissed Tinubu’s justification for the emergency rule, arguing that the 1999 Constitution does not empower the federal government to take over the governance of a state.
It stated, “There is no provision in Section 305 (5), under which President Tinubu claims authority, that permits the federal government to unilaterally sack a democratically elected administration. The only constitutional provision for federal intervention in a state’s affairs is in Section 11 (4), which allows the National Assembly to legislate on behalf of a non-functional state legislature—nowhere does it grant the power to remove a governor.”
They further accused the National Assembly of complicity, warning that any endorsement of the move would set a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.
The leaders maintained that Tinubu’s decision to appoint a military administrator was an undisguised attempt to return Rivers State to Wike’s control.
“The President’s appointment of an administrator, who will be answerable to the Federal Executive Council, is a blatant move to quench Wike’s insatiable appetite for ruling Rivers State by proxy,”they said.
Recalling how former President Goodluck Jonathan declared an emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states in 2013 without dissolving elected structures, the SMBLF described Tinubu’s move as an act of executive recklessness aimed at suppressing opposition.
The Forum urged the National Assembly to reject what it called a “despotic and ominous order”that undermines democracy and threatens Nigeria’s federalism.
They also appealed to Niger Delta youths to avoid violent protests, while calling on Nigerians to resist what they described as Tinubu’s agenda of turning the country into a one-party state.
