Atiku condemns State of Emergency declaration in Rivers, accuses Tinubu of political manipulation

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as a politically motivated move.

In a statement shared on his official social media handles, Atiku accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of partisan interference in the state’s political crisis.

“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith,” he wrote.

He further alleged that Tinubu played a role in escalating the crisis rather than preventing it.

“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,” he stated.

Atiku also blamed the federal government for the security breaches that led to the destruction of national infrastructure in Rivers State, insisting that the President must take responsibility for the worsening crisis in the Niger Delta.

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

He expressed concern that the recent unrest has reversed the peace achieved in the Niger Delta since the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration.

“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,” he wrote.

Atiku concluded by condemning the decision to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara, insisting that the people of Rivers State should not suffer because of political conflicts between the governor and Tinubu’s allies.

“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,” he declared.