Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing the move as “political manipulation and outright bad faith.”
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Atiku accused the federal government of either deliberately allowing or failing to prevent the political crisis in the state, which led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other elected officials.
“His blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful,” Atiku said.
Atiku also held the Tinubu administration responsible for the security breaches that resulted in damage to federal infrastructure in Rivers State.
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility,” he stated.
He argued that rather than addressing the root causes of the crisis, the state of emergency unfairly punishes the people of Rivers State.
“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 declared.
The former Vice President further accused Tinubu’s government of reversing the peace achieved in the Niger Delta under former President Umaru Yar’Adua.
“This administration has thrown the region back into an era of violent unrest and instability,” he said.
Atiku called on Nigerians to resist what he described as a politically motivated action, stressing that the crisis in Rivers State should not be used as a tool for partisan interests.
