Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Atiku Abubakar, has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu over the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, alleging political manipulation and bad faith.
In a statement released on his official Twitter account, Atiku accused Tinubu of being a “vested partisan actor” in the unfolding crisis, arguing that his administration either enabled or failed to prevent the escalating political turmoil in the oil-rich state.
“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith,” Atiku wrote. “Anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers. His blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful.”
Atiku’s remarks come in the wake of President Tinubu’s decision to impose emergency rule in Rivers State, a move that has led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and members of the State House of Assembly.
Read: https://afrocover.com/tinubu-declares-state-of-emergency-in-rivers-suspends-fubara/
The federal government justified the decision by citing heightened political tensions and recent security breaches, including the reported destruction of critical national infrastructure.
However, Atiku dismissed these justifications, asserting that the federal government should bear full responsibility for the deteriorating security situation in Rivers State.
“Beyond the political scheming in Rivers, the brazen security breaches that led to the condemnable destruction of national infrastructure in the state land squarely on the President’s desk,” he stated. “Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent.”
Atiku further argued that Tinubu’s handling of the crisis has reversed the hard-earned peace that was achieved under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, particularly in stabilizing the Niger Delta region.
“It is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability — undoing the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Years of progress have been recklessly erased in pursuit of selfish political calculations,” he said.
The 2023 Presidential candidate concluded his statement with a strong condemnation of the state of emergency, alleging that it was a politically motivated assault on democracy rather than a genuine effort to restore stability.
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility. Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and @officialABAT’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” Atiku declared.
