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According to Dr. George Agbakahi, a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) South East Zone, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the National Assembly’s subsequent ratification of it were the correct steps to prevent a complete collapse of law and order in the state.

He stated that in order to allow the opposing forces to reflect and adopt compromise methods of peaceful resolution for the benefit of the state and the nation as a whole, Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and members of the State Assembly had to be suspended.

In response to questions during an NTA current affairs program that our reporter watched, Agbakayi, who served as the South East Leader of the Tinubu Support Organization during the general elections of 2023, said that President Tinubu used the constitutional authority granted to him by Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution to prevent the crisis from getting worse, which was already causing damage to the country’s oil infrastructure.

Citing earlier declarations of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states by former President Goodluck Jonathan and in Plateau and Ekiti states by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the APC chieftain claimed that emergency rule was not new in the nation.

“You know as per the proclamation, I think Chapter 8 Part 2 and Section 305 of Nigerian Constitution made it abundantly clear that the president proclaim state of emergency in any state or even nation, and needs to send this gazette to the National Assembly so that they can vote on the proclamation.

“I think he did the right thing, it’s also left for the national Assembly to make amendments as they deem fit,” he said.

Agbakahi stated that every legislature in all democracies, including the US, chooses its own method of operation when it comes to the use of voice votes as opposed to individual votes by National Assembly members when approving the presidential gazette’s declaration of a state of emergency.

“So it (state of emergency) is not a recent phenomenon in my view. I think in this case we all know the genesis, every Nigerian knows the genesis of this current crisis.

“But I think the president in my opinion did the right thing by issuing this proclamation of emergency particularly when you consider the significance of Rivers State in Nigerian politics and economic life.

“If you go to the Niger Delta area, Rivers State is like the capital of the Niger Delta, Rivers State produces about 21.3 percent in terms of oil production.

“Go to Rivers state there are over 150 multinationals stationed in Port-Harcourt and environs. So I think it’s very important that Mr. President did this to forestall anarchy,” he said.

As to the task before the Sole Administrator, Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, Agbakahi said: “I believe the sole administrator is a man of immense integrity who served this country well, I think in the navy and somebody that is well respected in the Niger Delta as a Naval Chief.

“What I really expect him to do is to remain neutral in the issues of Rivers State and also engage the contending powers there in order to fashion out a way to bring stability to the state, it’s very important.

“If he goes in there and starts taking sides that’s where we will also have problems, and like I said, if there are tendencies that there would be absolute peace and stability in Rivers State I suppose the president being someone that is very sagacious, may call this state of emergency off because he wants the best for Rivers State considering the significance of the state to the overall economy of Nigeria,”.

Insisting on the necessity of the emergency rule, the APC chieftain stressed, “Like I said over 95 percent of our revenue as a country comes from Niger Delta so if there is chaos in that place, there was already a present danger of instability in Rivers State and if the president hadn’t instituted this proclamation, truly in my view, the state House of Assembly would have tried to impeach governor Fubara.

“If you watch the political trajectory in Rivers State, they would have impeached him and there would have been chaos in Rivers State which will lead to economic misfortune of this great country.”

According to him, the Sole administrator should endeavor to uphold stability and peace while also making sure that the state’s government persisted.

He said that he could accomplish this by assembling a tiny cabinet or hiring assistants under the watchful eye of the National Assembly’s joint committee responsible for oversight.

In order to guarantee the restoration of calm in the state, Agbakahi stated that the dramatis personae in the Rivers crisis should prioritize communication and collaboration with other parties.

“I believe no matter what the National Assembly says or what the proclamation is, the issue in Rivers State has to be resolved by former governor Wike and Governor Fubara.

“They are friends, they are like father and son, they have worked together for the past several years. Both of them need to swallow their pride and come together for the benefit of Rivers people.

“For that I will call on all Nigerians, particularly indigenes of Rivers State, that we all search our conscience and reach out to one another in this proclamation of emergency in Rivers State and rededicate ourselves to democratic ideals of peace, tolerance, sacrifice and respect for individual as a source of public authority at this time and we all need to exercise self-restraint and respect for the rule of law.

“That’s the only way we can have peace and stability in Rivers State,” he admonished.

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