Months of political infighting in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State have culminated in the federal government declaring a state of emergency, putting residents on edge and throwing the country into constitutional uncertainty.The region is prone to street gang violence and theft from crude pipelines, but it’s also a key economic lifeline for the west African fossil fuel giant.While the streets of the regional capital Port Harcourt were calm Wednesday, many were expecting a large military presence in the coming days after both the governor and the local legislature were suspended — the constitutionality of which was unclear.The power struggle that began in late 2023 between now-suspended governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, spawned court cases and crippled the state legislature, all while the region dealt with attacks on oil facilities.President Bola Tinubu, who had previously brokered a failed peace deal between the two, said in a nationwide address on Tuesday that he was “disturbed” by the “political crisis”.In a scathing rebuke of Fubara, he accused him of complicity in the latest attacks on oil infrastructure.”Apart from that, both the House and the governor have not been able to work together. Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state,” Tinubu said.He has since sworn in Ibokette Ibas, a retired former navy chief as the state administrator for six months. – ‘Anger in the air’ -Local media reported pockets of protests in other parts of the state, though the streets of Port Harcourt were quiet.Footage published by local broadcaster News Central showed Muslim and Christian women praying for peace at a park.”The atmosphere has been normal,” Ehis Joe, a trader in Port Harcourt, told AFP. “But there is still fear among the populace. There is anger in the air, and anything can happen.”Though both former governors were members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), supporters of the ousted Fubara accused the president of making a hasty declaration and of siding with his ally, Wike. Wike, now minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was instrumental in Tinubu winning the state in the 2023 general election.”Nobody wants emergency rule,” Joe Okoronkwo, a lecturer at one of the state’s main health institutions, told AFP. “Rivers people are with the governor.””It is too hasty, secondly, it is lopsided, and thirdly, we don’t think that it complies with constitutional provisions,” said Benjamin Okaba, a professor of sociology at the Federal University of Otuoke, in nearby Bayelsa State.- ‘Lack of clarity’ legally -Tinubu’s decision has sharply divided opinion in the country, with critics highlighting the president’s disavowal of a similar emergency declaration by the federal government in the past.Tinubu said the country’s constitution empowered him to suspend the officials, while opposition leader Peter Obi described the move as “reckless” and an “unconstitutional overreach”.A lack of legal clarity, however, has given Tinubu room to manoeuvre.”We don’t have a judicial pronouncement on whether it is constitutional for a democratically elected president to suspend democratically elected state officials,” Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at Lagos-based risk consultancy SBM Intelligence, told AFP.”That lack of clarity means that the president has a wide latitude.”
