His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Sir.
DECLARATION OF STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE.
On behalf of the teeming membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Rivers State, l write to express our Painful Satisfaction on the declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State
It was clearly the best of all possible decisions to checkmate the brewing circumstances of economic sabotage and general anomie that were trickling and bedeviling the peace in Rivers State.
I recall that in your very tight schedules, you took out time to meet with critical Stakeholders in Rivers State, in the most serene environment in the State House, Abuja.
That meeting was advisory and produced 8-Points Resolution as backup, which was read before the full glare of attendees by Former Governor, Peter Odili.
I recall also that after every paragraph was read, you paused to ask if it was acceptable to all, and everyone responded bellowing a thunderous, affirmation
Thereafter, we signed the 8-Points Resolution on your table, beginning with HE Governor Fubara as he then was.
In his speech before Your Excellency and attendees, the then Governor swore to follow through the 8-points resolution which were intended to bring relative peace in Rivers State.
Alas, we returned to a thespian drama where some Elders who should have drummed for peace latching on the veritable ground provided by the meeting in the State House.
Instead, they counseled the Governor never to accept your wise counsel as you lacked the powers under the constitution to so intervene.
Worse still, they went to court to seek a declaration that Mr. President’s decision was Political, not Constitutional.
In all this route, the Governor was the mastermind and financier.
He watched through the sordid path of denigration and abuse of Mr. President with his snide comments which enlivened his cronies in the garb of Elders.
As a Party, we took out airtimes in both traditional and new media to urge the Governor and his hatchet men to refrain from the ceaseless obnoxious attacks on Mr. President, whose only offense was the intention to return peace and tranquility in Rivers State.
We failed because of the deep-seated penchant of Governor Fubara, whose deliberate intention was to show off Mr. President as weak and inconsequential.
GROSS DISREGARD FOR THE RULE OF LAW:
The Governor as he then was, utterly disregarded and disrespected the Rule of Law and carried on with impunity under the guise of immunity clause section 308.
He chose the orders of the Court/judicial pronouncements to obey.
Fast forward to the judgment in FHC/Abj/CS/1613/2023 delivered on 23rd of January, 2024.
The learned Jurist, James Omotosho made far~reaching decisions – including the crux of the matter, namely;
Presentation of the 2024 budget to the Rivers State House of Assembly under the Speakership of Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule.
that on no account should the Governor meddle in the affairs of the Assembly vis a vis, their carrying out of constitutional functions.
The learned Jurist estopped the Governor from withholding the finances of the Assembly howsoever.
Governor Fubara disregarded all these and publicly boasted that he holds the ace, and would decide the faith of 27 Assembly members who in his thoughts, are appendages to the Executive Arm and under the hard nose of his whims and caprices.
The Court of Appeal in the case before them, scolded and tongue lashed Governor Fubara as he then was, and hammered that ” it was a joke taken too far”, for the Governor to conduct the affairs of the State with just 3 law~makers in an Assembly of 32.
DID HE BUDGE?
Instead, he (suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara) runs to the Rivers State Judiciary to get a mid~night judgement, which over~rules the judgement of the Federal High Court and even the Court of Appeal.
See appeal number CA/Abj/cv/133/2024 which emaneted from suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023
MINDLESS DESPERATION OF GOVERNOR SIMINALAYE FUBARA:
Rivers State people woke up to raging flames on the iconic structure of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
A structure comparable to none in any State in Nigeria.
Governor Fubara visited the scene and thereafter addressed his cronies who were mobilized at the government house gate. Instead of being circumspect and worried by the incident, he told his cronies that the Assembly members would have used the edifice to impeach him that morning.
Again as a political party, the APC craved for the setting up of an inquiry to uncover the reason(s) behind the gory circumstance in whatsoever nomenclature.
The Governor rebuffed and blatantly refused.
He happily followed up with deployment of many equipments and personally supervised the complete demolition of the edifice. An action he thought could foist helplessness to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
To further frustrate the genuine Assembly members under the Speakership of Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, he elected to seize their salaries and remuneration for a year and many months barefaced, and never cared how the Assembly members and their families fared.
(See page 42 of the judgement in SC/CV/1174/2024 as delivered by the eminent jurist Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, JSC) which described Governor Fubara as a civilian despot and rascal hiding under the cloak of section 308 of the constitution (immunity).
Appropriating funds from the consolidated accounts of Rivers State without the appropriation law.
This was frowned at by the Supreme Court who in her judgement directed the former Governor Siminalaye Fubara to go to the RSHA under the Speakership of Rt Hon Martins Chike Amaewhule to present the appropriation bill as condition for the release of monies accruable to Rivers State from the CBN, FAAC and/or any other financial house.
(See the lead judgement of Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, JSC and the concurrence of the justices that sat on the case)
The Supreme Court clearly noted that there was no government in Rivers State within the period under review as there was none existence of the Legislature. In their mathematical calculation 12.5% of 100% cannot constitute a quorum for legislative business.
DECLARATION OF STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE.
Your Excellency, we saw the zest in you to have the self~inflicted Rivers State political imbroglio resolved. For the second time ,during the visit with you by the PANDEF, you alluded to the Rivers State case and urged the leaders to help in the realization and implementation of the Rule of Law and specifically the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court on the 28th of February, 2025.
Despite the Presidential counsel, Rivers State became a beehive of activities for non~state actors who boasted openly to bomb pipelines and strangulate the Nation’s economy and engage in lawlessness should Governor Fubara be impeached.
We thought that it was an empty threat. They made good their boast by bombing and destroying crucial pipelines in Rivers State.
Kidnapping, robbery and blocking of major highways returned in droves.
Governor Fubara did absolutely nothing to restore normalcy to a now fledgling State that he governed.
We noted with ‘Painful Satisfaction’ (oxymoron) as captured in paragraph 1 above.
Painful!
Your Excellency, Mr. President, your decision for a State of Emergency in Rivers State is rather Painful, but critically examining the evolving scenarios, we can’t but welcome the timeous decision.
“An Elder doesn’t sit to watch a goat deliver her baby on tethers” ~ African proverb.
It’s painful to us because we laboured to get electoral victories in Rivers State in both 25th February 2023 (Presidential election), which was an unprecedented political landmark and 18th March, 2023 (Governorship).
We thank you for the numerous appointments gifted Rivers State indigenes which our Party (APC) members have benefitted and still hopeful to benefit.
Regrettably, not even the inconsequential position was extended to us by Former Governor Fubara in reciprocation and regard to the rainbow coalition as hemmed up in Rivers State.
SATISFACTION:
We are satisfied with Mr. President’s decision for the State of Emergency in Rivers State. It was timeous.
We heard the drumbeat of war and ethnicisation of a political imbroglio.
The atmosphere in Rivers State became quacky so fast because of the unfortunate turn of event.
CONGRATULATIONS:
We congratulate Mr. President for the declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State.
It is utilitarian to the extent that it brought succour and happiness to the greatest amount of Rivers people.
We congratulate the square peg Sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd) whose pedigree in administration and scintillating service to our Nation speak volumes. Who is appointed by Mr. President to temporarily superintend the affairs of Rivers State.
As a Party of decorous and law~abiding citizens of Rivers State/Nigeria, we declare in advance, our unalloyed support and determination to work with him towards the realization of Mr. President’s good intentions.
Signed:
Chief Tony C. Okocha, KSC, DSSRS, JP,
Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC),
Rivers State.
March 19, 2025.
