By Abdulfatah Babatunde
Lagos, March 22, ’25 (TNZ) The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) says President Bola Tinubu has the responsibility to forestall chaos and anarchy in Rivers State by proclaiming a state of emergency.
TheNewsZenith reports that the group argued that intelligence at the President’s exclusive disposal was sufficient justification for his decision to suspend democratic institutions in the state for six months.
According to the group, this is a fallout of both parties’ reluctance to work together. It is also despite a presidential intervention and a recent Supreme Court ruling.
In a statement emailed to TheNewsZenith at the weekend, the TMSG’s Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, argued that the President had no choice but to constitutionally intervene.
“Our position on President Bola Tinubu’s decision to impose a state of emergency and suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the House of Assembly is simple.
“The president acted proactively to defuse an already charged situation.
“This follows the hard-line positions and reluctance of both parties in the political crisis in Rivers state to heed the voice of reason.
“They failed to return the state to peaceful governance in the aftermath of the recent Supreme Court ruling.
“Before then, President Tinubu had in December 2023 intervened by brokering a peace deal between Governor Fubara and the lawmakers.
“The deal, tabled at a meeting in Abuja, was to have culminated in the governor recognising the Martin Amaewhule-led assembly and presenting the 2024 budget.
“The governor was also expected to reinstate the legislators’ remunerations and benefits while they are to stop impeachment proceedings,” the statement read in part.
TMSG noted that both sides were also to drop all pending court matters on the crisis.
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“But to the surprise of many Nigerians, the parties stuck to their hard-line positions. They failed to implement critical aspects of the peace deal.
“We were, therefore, surprised to see a claim by the former Rivers state Commissioner of Information that the governor implemented the President’s deal.
“So, we wonder which one of the terms the governor implemented. The lawmakers have not had their benefits reinstated.
“Neither did the governor send the 2024 budget to them for approval.”
The group further argued that there was no basis for comparing the President’s action to that of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 at the height of the war against insurgency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
“We acknowledge that Jonathan’s administration declared a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa but spared the governors.
“Let Nigerians not forget that it was a war situation, which is different from what we have in Rivers State.
“President Tinubu did not declare emergency rule in Rivers because of security issues.
“He made it clear that his decision was necessary to restore peace, order, and governance in a state that had been embroiled in political turmoil for several months on end.
“We believe that President Tinubu deserves credit for declaring a state of emergency for six months.
“We hope that it will give both parties enough time to ruminate and evaluate their actions since December 2023 and accept mediatory efforts they had shunned previously,” TheNewZenith further quoted the statement. (TNZ)
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