- Fagbemi also accused Fubara of encouraging militants to blow up pipelines in the state.
The Federal Government has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in River State.
The government said the declaration became imperative to forestall a collapse in the state.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, made this while briefing State House Correspondents at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
“We have about two years into the administration in the state.
“Now, when do you think he (President Tinubu) should have come in? Is it when everything has been destroyed? I don’t think so.
“I think the President has acted timeously. He has given the opportunity to all the parties involved to make amends. Before then, he had to assemble them, and he had tried to mediate,” he stated.
Fagbemi also accused Fubara of encouraging militants to blow up pipelines in the state.
He said although the governor was not directly culpable, he failed to dissuade the militants from vandalising the pipeline.
He said, “We are in a democracy. There were what I will call telegraphing of the militants, I will say, by the governor. And the reason I say so is, when he began, he said oh, he will let them know when it was time to act.
“Let us say it was false. Did he come out to disown them? The answer is no. And a week later, they swung into action. You saw or witnessed the vandalisation of oil pipelines.”
Fagbemi argued that with the nation almost reliant on crude oil, anyone “touching” the pipeline is not only an enemy of Rivers but Nigeria.
The minister said Fubara and the members of the state House of Assembly had to be suspended as they failed to ensure a conducive atmosphere for governance in the state.
Tinubu had on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
In a national broadcast, Tinubu cited prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats as reasons for the extraordinary measure.
The crisis, which had crippled governance in the oil-rich state, was triggered by a power tussle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The Rivers political unrest worsened after Fubara demolished the state’s House of Assembly complex in December 2023, leading to a protracted battle over the legality of the legislative arm.
The crisis deepened when 27 lawmakers, loyal to Wike, dumped the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, spurring legal disputes over their status.
However, the Supreme Court, on February 28, 2025, affirmed that the lawmakers remained valid members of the Assembly, faulting the governor’s actions as unconstitutional and reeked to despotism.
According to the judgment, Rivers State had effectively descended into one-man rule due to the absence of a functioning legislature.
Despite the ruling, governance remained stalled, with the Assembly and executive failing to cooperate.
As of March 2025, the state’s annual Appropriation Bill had not been passed.
On Monday night, an explosion rocked a section of the Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo Community in Gonna Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The explosion occurred near the Bodo-Bonny Road under construction.
Another explosion occurred on Tuesday at a pipeline manifold in the Omwawriwa axis of the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of the State.
Citing fresh security reports, Tinubu expressed concern over the recent vandalisation of oil pipelines by militants, allegedly acting in support of Fubara.
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