Rivers Crisis: PANDEF says Tinubu’s claim of pipeline attack is pretext for state capture
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) says President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is part of the agenda for state capture and betrayal of the Niger Delta people.
It said the All Progressives Congress-controlled federal government used recent pipeline attacks as a pretext to unseat Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The group described the development as politically motivated to impose federal control on the oil-rich state.
A communiqué issued after an emergency meeting of PANDEF’s Board of Trustees and expanded National Executive Committee on Wednesday, said the President’s actions was a “betrayal” of the Niger Delta people and an unjustifiable assault on democratic governance.
In rejecting President Tinubu’s justification for the emergency rule, which cited a blown-up pipeline as a security threat, PANDEF argued that pipeline attacks had occurred in various parts of the country, including under Tinubu’s administration, without leading to military intervention or emergency declarations.
It said; “Many Nigerian states, particularly in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central, experience daily assaults on their very existence. Yet, no state of emergency has been declared.”
Further questioning the selective nature of the president’s decision, the Forum also criticised the immediate militarization of Rivers State, noting that security forces had not even conducted a full investigation into the cause of the pipeline explosion before the emergency rule was imposed.
The group decried the declaration of emergency just days after Governor Fubara had complied with the Supreme Court’s ruling and the President’s directive to present the 2025 state budget to the Rivers State House of Assembly.
It also noted that the Assembly had adjourned indefinitely instead of receiving the governor, only to turn round and initiate impeachment proceedings in hiding shortly afterwards.
According to PANDEF; “This sequence of events raises serious doubts about the true intent of the emergency rule.”
It further stated that current developments only suggested that the move was orchestrated to sideline Fubara and consolidate power in favour of political interests aligned with the federal government.
Also referring to Mr President’s past stance against state of emergency declarations, particularly his criticism of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s similar action in 2013, PANDEF said at that time, Tinubu had accused Jonathan’s government of using emergency rule to “muzzle elected governments” and push partisan agendas, an accusation PANDEF now directs at the current administration.
However, amid its strong condemnation of the emergency rule, PANDEF maintained its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the crisis and vowed to explore all constitutional remedies to challenge the emergency rule in Rivers State.
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