Rivers: Your good intentions have been ruined, discard administrator now – Group to Tinubu

A civic coalition underneath the banner of the Residents’ Motion for Democratic Restoration (CADR) has known as for the instant finish of emergency rule in Rivers State, warning that the Federal Authorities’s intervention has derailed constitutional order and deepened unrest within the oil-rich state.

The group, led by Nationwide President, Dr. Maryleen Ebere Okoro, faulted President Bola Tinubu for appointing Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as sole administrator.

They described the emergency rule as a “reckless overreach” that has compounded the Rivers disaster and stifled the desire of the folks.

In a press release issued in Port Harcourt and made out there to journalists on Saturday, CADR criticised the administrator’s continued suspension of democratic establishments and imposition of unilateral rule with out authorized or legislative backing.

“President Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers might have been pushed by a need to stabilise the state, however the appointment of a sole administrator who has suspended state constructions, defied courtroom rulings, and threatened peaceable protesters has ruined any good intention which will have existed. That is not intervention, it’s occupation,” she stated.

CADR listed a number of worrying developments for the reason that March 18 emergency declaration: the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and the the home of meeting; the mass sacking of political appointees and state executives; the appointment of native authorities directors in defiance of subsisting courtroom orders; and repeated crackdowns on protest teams, significantly women-led demonstrations demanding a return to civil governance.

“Vice Admiral Ibas has dismantled the democratic scaffolding of Rivers State. Native councils are being crammed with handpicked loyalists. Rivers State has turn into a dictatorship underneath federal cowl and Nigerians are watching in disbelief.”

Talking additional, Dr. Okoro famous that makes an attempt to intimidate protesters solely betray the federal government’s lack of ethical authority.

“When girls carrying placards are tear-gassed, it’s not about peacekeeping. It turns into state-sponsored repression. We can not construct unity on the inspiration of concern.”

CADR additionally challenged the President’s silence within the face of escalating criticism from civil rights organisations, authorized consultants, and abnormal residents.

In keeping with the group, a correct stakeholder dialogue, together with conventional rulers, civil society, and elected representatives, may have resolved the battle with out undermining constitutional democracy.

“If the President actually sought peace, he would have convened all related actors in Rivers State to mediate a path ahead. As a substitute, he selected the trail of imposition and exclusion. That call is now backfiring and threatening nationwide unity,” she stated.

The group warned that permitting Ibas to proceed in workplace underneath emergency powers dangers setting a harmful precedent.

“Right now, it’s Rivers. Tomorrow, it may very well be any state the place political disagreements exist. If one man can substitute a whole authorities by federal decree, then our democracy is in grave hazard,” Okoro stated.

“The scenario in Rivers shouldn’t be democratic and so we urge President Tinubu instantly rescind the emergency order, reinstate Fubara, and provoke a peacebuilding course of anchored in constitutional legislation.

“Our message is evident. The administrator should go. The emergency rule should finish. Nigerians didn’t die for democracy solely to be dominated by decree once more. Sufficient is sufficient,” she declared.