Niger Delta group plans protest against Tinubu’s actions in Rivers
The Niger Delta Congress (NDC) has called for a protest in Rivers State against President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of state of emergency and suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and lawmakers.
The NDC said in a statement on Sunday that the declaration of emergency rule, “purportedly justified by incidents of pipeline vandalism and militancy, raises serious doubts about its legality and legitimacy under the Nigerian Constitution”.
It said: “The Constitution allows such drastic measures only in extraordinary circumstances where public order and safety are demonstrably imperiled beyond the control of elected authorities. However, the evidence provided, isolated acts of vandalism amid a protracted political feud between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, falls far short of the existential crisis required to justify overriding a constitutionally elected government.
“This move appears not as a safeguard for national stability, but as a deliberate political ploy, trampling the will of the Rivers people to serve the interests of a select few.
By suspending two branches of government and imposing a military caretaker, the federal government has made it clear that political rivalries can supersede democratic principles. This is not just a crisis confined to Rivers State, it is a dire warning to all ethnic nations of the Niger Delta: our democratic foundations are brittle, and the specter of authoritarian overreach looms large, ready to strip away our dignity as a people.
“We call upon the ethnic nations of the Niger Delta particularly in Rivers, Ijaw, Ogoni, Ikwerre, and beyond, to rise and recognize the gravity of this moment. A peaceful Rivers State is vital to the social and economic advancement of our people.
“The disruption of governance, the resurgence of militancy, and the sabotage of critical infrastructure, such as the recent Trans-Niger Pipeline explosion, threaten to undo decades of hard-won progress toward peace and prosperity. Our communities, already scarred by environmental ruin and economic neglect, cannot endure further chaos.
“The NDC unequivocally condemns this emergency declaration and the suspension of the executive and legislative arms of the Rivers State Government as a flagrant abuse of executive power and a perilous precedent that erodes the sovereignty of our states and the rights of our people.
“We demand that President Tinubu immediately reverse this decision, reinstate Governor Fubara and the elected assembly, and commit to dialogue over diktat. To this end, we call on our people to take to the streets in a peaceful protest against indirect and undemocratic rule in Rivers State.”
