The House of Representatives has voted in support of the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
In a move that has split Nigerians and has continued to attract severe criticism, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months following the political crisis that had rocked the state.
But two days after Tinubu’s declaration, the House of Representatives in a voice vote backed the President, giving a seal of approval to his decision. Their support came following a letter from the president.
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas presided over the plenary and said 240 lawmakers attended the session on Thursday in Abuja.
However, the House has made some amendments to the proclamation. These include the set up of a committee of eminent Nigerians to mediate on the matter during the period of emergency,
It also drew attention to the Constitutional provision that allows the National Assembly to make laws for a state if at any time the state assembly is unable to perform its functions, disagreeing with Tinubu’s position that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) would usurp this function.
The House of Representatives also said the state of emergency can be reviewed and terminated at any time within the initial six months, as proclaimed, based on progress made about peace.
Tinubu on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in the South-South state and nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as the sole administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state.
He cited “latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today, there have been disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them”.
But that move has received condemnations from leaders of the opposition and some prominent Nigerians including legal experts, and governors, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nasir El-Rufai among others.
However, the Federal Government has defended the president’s actions.
