{"id":2926,"date":"2025-03-24T06:34:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T06:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=2926"},"modified":"2025-03-24T06:34:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T06:34:20","slug":"presidency-insists-emergency-declaration-in-rivers-state-was-not-for-power-grab-but-prevention-of-anarchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/presidency-insists-emergency-declaration-in-rivers-state-was-not-for-power-grab-but-prevention-of-anarchy\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidency insists Emergency declaration in Rivers state was not for power grab but prevention of Anarchy\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Presidency has dismissed claims that the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other political actors in Rivers State is a power grab, insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted decisively to prevent the state from descending into anarchy<\/p>\n

\"\"

Gov Fubara of Rivers State<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
In a statement released on Sunday, March 23, 2025, Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, outlined the urgent need for intervention, stressing that waiting for the total collapse of governance before acting would have been reckless and irresponsible.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The crisis in Rivers State, stemming from a bitter power struggle between Governor Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, had crippled governance.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Despite Supreme Court rulings affirming constitutional governance, the feuding factions refused to back down.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0According to the Presidency, intelligence reports confirmed that militants in the creeks were primed to sabotage critical oil infrastructure, posing a direct threat to Nigeria\u2019s economic security.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cImagine a Rivers State where President Tinubu hesitated. The political standoff could have spiraled into violence, with attacks on lawmakers and the state\u2019s vital oil infrastructure at risk.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0Schools and hospitals would shut down, investors would flee, and the human and economic toll would be catastrophic,\u201d the statement read.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
By March 18, the situation had deteriorated beyond political resolution, making Presidential intervention unavoidable<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Critics argue that the suspension of Governor Fubara and other political actors is an assault on democracy, but the Presidency insists that the move was a temporary reset, not a takeover.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThis is no power grab,\u201d the statement emphasized. \u201cThe intervention is temporary, surgical, and aimed at restoring\u2014not replacing\u2014democratic institutions. The six-month suspension is designed to disarm warring factions and stabilize governance.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It also pointed out the hypocrisy of some critics who remained silent on Fubara\u2019s refusal to cooperate with the legislature, yet condemned the President\u2019s move.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Democracy cannot thrive amid lawlessness\u2014anarchy is its antithesis,\u201d Onanuga stated.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“The Presidency referenced historical precedents, including past states of emergency in Plateau and Borno, as well as the doctrine of necessity, to justify Tinubu\u2019s decisive action.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“The President\u2019s oath demands that he must safeguard national stability, not watch idly as partisan strife strangles our democracy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“Rivers is a vital economic artery, and any politically motivated disruption in its oil industry has nationwide consequences,\u201d the statement asserted.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He argued that with the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (Rtd.) as Administrator of Rivers State, efforts are already underway to restore peace and resume democratic governance<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One of his first moves was meeting with traditional leaders to forge lasting solutions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to him,”The Presidency has\u00a0 reassured Nigerians that the state of emergency would be lifted once stability is achieved, allowing elected officials to resume their duties.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Presidency has dismissed claims that the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other political actors in Rivers State is a power grab, insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted decisively to prevent the state from descending into anarchy In a statement released on Sunday, March 23, 2025, Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1247,1695,1509,434,149,490],"class_list":["post-2926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-anarchy","tag-constitutional","tag-grab","tag-intervention","tag-power","tag-restoration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2927,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926\/revisions\/2927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}