Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, calling it a political maneuver designed in bad faith and an assault on the country’s democracy.
Reacting via his verified Facebook page, Atiku expressed his concern that the state of emergency is a result of political manipulation, with President Bola Tinubu either enabling or failing to prevent the ongoing chaos in Rivers State. According to Atiku, the president should bear full responsibility for the turmoil in the state, rather than punishing its people.
“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith,” Atiku said. He further stated that anyone following the developments in Rivers knows that President Tinubu has been a key player in the political crisis, either through neglect or active involvement, which has allowed the situation to escalate.
Atiku also pointed to the security breaches and the destruction of national infrastructure in Rivers State, arguing that these failures fall squarely on the president’s shoulders. “Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent,” he said.
The former vice president also highlighted the long-standing peace efforts in the Niger Delta under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, which he claims have been undone under Tinubu’s leadership. “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,” he stated.
Atiku concluded that if federal infrastructure in Rivers State has been compromised, the president must take full accountability. He described the imposition of the state of emergency as an unjustified action that harms the people of Rivers for the sake of political maneuvering between the state governor and federal government officials. “Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” Atiku asserted.
This marks a continuation of the political opposition to the state of emergency, with Atiku joining voices from across the political spectrum in rejecting what they see as an infringement on the democratic rights of Rivers residents.
