Atiku reacts to Tinubu’s state of emergency declaration in Rivers

Former Vice President and 2023 PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, Atiku expressed deep concern over the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and state lawmakers, describing the move as an assault on democracy and constitutional governance.

Atiku argued that political disputes should be resolved through democratic means, not by forceful interventions that undermine elected leadership.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Tinubu declares emergency rule in Rivers, suspends gov, deputy, lawmakers

He called on Nigerians, civil society organizations, and the international community to reject what he termed an attempt to silence opposition and destabilize the rule of law.

The statement read; “The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent.”

“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.”

“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 Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”