Emergency rule: Rivers now calm, says group

The Rivers Restoration Movement (RRM), an interest group, has commended President Bola Tinubu for easing political tensions and restoring order in Rivers.

RRM’s Director General, Johnson Georgewill, told journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday that the emergency rule had brought stability to the state.

He said that Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers was timely, as it had helped to de-escalate the crises that had plagued the state for nearly two years.

“We commend President Tinubu, the National Assembly, security agencies, and other national leaders for their timely intervention in rescuing the state,” he said.

Georgwill noted that the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, had, within a short period, restored peace, stability, and unity among the people.

He added that, prior to the sole administrator’s assumption of office, Rivers was frequently in the news for negative developments.

The RRM leader also dismissed threats to blow up pipelines if Gov. Siminalayi Fubara was impeached, claiming that those making such threats were not Ijaw indigenes.

“Those who misguided the suspended governor and threatening lawmakers from performing their legislative duties are non-Rivers Ijaws who do not vote in Rivers State.

“They are also individuals who did not support Gov. Fubara in 2023 elections.

“A majority of indigenous Ijaws in the state support the efforts of President Tinubu and the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to restore peace, particularly the eight-point resolution peace pact,” Georgewill stated.

He further remarked that individuals who had previously fuelled unrest over the purported impeachment of Fubara were now benefitting from the current peace in Rivers.

He expressed gratitude to the state’s traditional rulers and the Rivers Elders Council, led by Chief Ferdinand Alabrabra, for working with the sole administrator to restore stability.

“Furthermore, the majority of Ijaws who contributed to Gov. Fubara’s election in 2023 remain grateful to the political leader of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for his role in liberating indigenous Rivers Ijaws,” he said.