State of Emergency in Rivers State: My take, by Dr Uche Diala

Former Governor Nyesom Wike is undoubtedly a key aggravating factor in the entire Rivers State situation. Refusing to let go of the state and vehemently refusing to give his successor space and a free hand to run the State, was and remains instrumental to the crisis in the state.

Here, I finally present my dispassionate stand on the above subject matter.

First, permit me to state a few salient points and observations:

1) Former Governor Nyesom Wike is undoubtedly a key aggravating factor in the entire Rivers State situation.

Refusing to let go of the state and vehemently refusing to give his successor space and a free hand to run the State, was and remains instrumental to the crisis in the state.

2) I duly acknowledge and condemn the demolition of the State House of Assembly complex as well as other misconducts by the Governor as highlighted in the Supreme Court judgement and by the President and also recognise the effort made by the President to broker peace in the past, but the President’s emergency declaration speech, with all due respects, did not come across as that of a unbiased mediator or umpire.

3) The President in his proclamation speech weighed glaringly too heavily against the Governor while not mentioning the former Governor and serving Minister who without a doubt triggered the entire crisis, because of his quest to control the incumbent governor and the state, even after leaving office as Governor.

4) It was HE Nyesom Wike who, as most unbiased Nigerians would attest to, encouraged and emboldened a faction of the House of Assembly in their fight with the Governor and who by his conduct and rhetoric from the bully pulpit provided by the FCT Ministerial position helped in fueling and prolonging the conflict in the state.

5) The bias or at least angst against the Governor couldn’t be more exemplified than when the President stated in his declaration message, en quote: “Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the Governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.”

It is curious, that the President essentially tied the Governor to the “millitants”, and accused him of not disowning them.

More curious, because the President himself has never called the FCT Minister, who is his appointee, to order or demanded that he ceased his rambunctious posturing, fiery rhetoric and conduct which were distracting the incumbent Governor and creating tension in the state.

I dare say, with every sense of respect and responsibility, that not proactively, dutifully and timeously calling the Minister of FCT to order was a major failure on the part of the President, which contributed significantly to where we are today.

6) The President blamed the governor for not curtailing vandalization of pipelines which happened within two days, even though there is a security contactor in charge of protecting the pipelines as well as state security agencies, including those under the constitutional command of the President and commander in chief himself.

Quoting the President: “The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them.” In two days? How fair is that?

7) Mr President also blamed the governor for the inability of he and the house to work together. Meanwhile, Nigerians can attest to the fact that the Governor in a bid to comply with the Supreme Court judgement made effort to present the Budget before the Assembly which they rebuffed and instead went for articles of impeachment.

My Stand …

After a careful study and analysis of the situation and the facts, I humbly submit as follows:

A) The President is well within his constitutional duties to declare a state of Emergency in Rivers State as in any other state for that matter. (See Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution).

B) The President, however, by suspending the elected Executive arm (governor and deputy governor) and the Legislative arm (House of Assembly members) of government, erred as the Constitution never prescribed that.

i. The provisions of any Act, assuming there is one, cannot supercede the provisions of the constitution. Neither can any wrong past precendent suffice.

ii. It is left for the National Assembly to determine whether the President breached the constitution, to what extent and what consequence, if any.

C) I responsibly urge the National Assembly to not approve the state of emergency as requested by the President or to cancel it based on the following considerations:

1) Suspending the Executive and the Legislature arms of government in the state, as has been done, may have breached the constitution as affirmed by many legal authorities. The national assembly should not be seen to be endorsing an unconstitutionality.

2) The declaration of the state of emergency, in my responsible view, was hasty and not done in good faith. It was more of an aggravated political act than one driven by the necessities of insecurity and or a breakdown of law and order.

While there was fear of a possibility of a breakdown of law and order, including an attack on an oil pipeline, there was no break down of law and order in Rivers State. Definitely none that reached the standards envisaged and prescribed by the constitution for the declaration of a state of emergency.

It is good to be proactive and decisive in actions, but it is equally important to ensure that actions taken are lawful, commensurate, just and do not have the potentials of creating more or new problems.

3) Clearly, all possible avenues and mechanisms for resolution of the conflict and issues (which are merely political) were not exploited, which is why many Nigerians were surprised and shocked by the decision.

4) There is nothing (including from past history and experience) to suggest that the declaration of a state of emergency will resolve the issues or even guarantee peace and security in the state.

In Closing …

It must be stated that inspite of all said and done, Rivers State has been more peaceful under the current Governor than it ever was under former Governor Wike. Rivers State indigenes and residents will attest to that.

It is therefore imperative and my humble plea that the federal government approaches this issue with greater tact and restraint, placing the peace, security and welfare of the greater majority of Rivers State indigenes over and above any political considerations and the ego and interest of any individual.

Caveat: This submission is without prejudice to the opinions and views of any other person(s) on this matter.

God Bless Nigeria.

©️ Uche Diala

druchediala@gmail.com
19th March 2025