Leadnaija
Senate President Godswill Akpabio reportedly clashed with some senators during a closed-door session over the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state of emergency declared in Rivers by President Bola Tinubu.
The president declared a state of emergency this week over the failure of the governor and the State House of Assembly to implement the Supreme Court judgment on the political crisis in the state and the security report on ongoing violence.
The Senate convened to debate and vote against or in support of the president’s move, and some senators allegedly kicked against the move during plenary on Thursday, March 20, and this formed the basis of their clash with Senate President Akpabio.
There were reports of heated arguments among the senators and many recording dissenting views on the state of emergency declaration. The Red Chamber also opted for a voice vote rather than a formal vote count due to an alleged lack of quorum.
According to Vanguard, three notable senators walked out of the chamber in protest against the Senate president’s decision on the matter. These members have been named as Senators Seriake Dickson, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Aminu Tambuwal.
Senators Seriake Dickson walks out of Akpabio
Dickson, the senator representing Bayelsa West, was one of the first to kick against President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers state.
The Senator, who was a two-term governor of Bayelsa, was said to have walked out of the Senate gathering during plenary when the state was mentioned.
Being a strong member of the leading opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dickson had earlier vowed to mobilise the senators against the move.
Enyinnaya Abaribe against state of emergency in Rivers
Enyinnaya Abaribe from the All Progressives Grand Alliance also reportedly walked out of the plenary on Thursday to protest the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers.
The Abia South representative is a high-ranking Nigerian senator who has served as deputy governor of the state and currently serving as the minority leader in the Senate.
Aminu Tambuwal walks out of Senate plenary
Another PDP senator representing Sokoto South also protested against the state of emergency declaration by walking out on Thursday.
Tambuwal, who left the plenary in outrage, is the immediate past governor of Sokoto and a former speaker of the House of Representatives.
Niger Delta must unite amid Rivers crisis – Analyst
Public affairs analyst Oladotun Hassan has called on the people of the Niger Delta to remain proactive and united in addressing the political crisis in Rivers state.
“The people of Niger Delta should, as a matter of point, reason properly and come in tandem. It’s not that the entire state of emergency will make everybody fold their hands akimbo,” Hassan told LeadNaija
While linking the crisis to the ongoing power struggle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his political godfather, Nyesom Wike, he noted that recent events have worsened tensions.
Hassan said he had initially thought the governor requested the president to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to prevent a looming political crisis.
As he put it:
Read Full Details>>“I was even reasoning on my own that ‘is this action a discrete request by the governor to salvage an impending political implosion?'”
