To avert security unrest in the state, the National President of the South South Youth Initiative (SSYI), Mr Oscar Imeabe, has beckoned on Rivers State youths to adhere to law and order as the political turmoil continues to unfold.
In an interview session held on Wednesday, Imeabe, who is also the spokesperson for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), demanded the vacation of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from office.
He alleged that President Bola Tinubu and the FCT minister were responsible for the crisis witnessed in the state.
During the interview, Imeabe called Tinubu to urgently withdraw the state of emergency declared in the state, noting that the attack on oil wells may not have been executed by the ex-militant group.
Recall that after the explosion that hit the Trans Niger Pipeline located at the borders of the Kpor and Bodo communities in the Gokana Local Government Area (LGA) on 17 March, another explosion occurred on 18 March at the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA) pipeline, raising security concerns.
Imeabe said, “With the current political crisis that is taking place in Rivers State, I seriously won’t like to attribute the recent pipeline explosions in Rivers State or the Niger Delta to the ethnic nationalities or the ex-militant groups that actually made some threats.
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“A lot of youths have made some threats; some NGOs and civil society organisations also made threats, but none of these are attributed to or related to the recent explosion that has taken place.
He described the attack on the oil wells as a calculated attempt by Tinubu and the former governor of Rivers State, Wike, recalling the explosion which occurred at Kalabari, which took about two months to bring the fire under control, and questioned the time of extinguishing the Gokana explosion.
“Going by what happened in Bodo yesterday, I can boldly say that the explosion that took place in Bodo was a calculated attempt by Mr President and Nyesom Wike to call for a state of emergency in Rivers State.
“An explosion took place in Kalabari; it took more than two months to stop the fire. Till today, it took months to stop the fire, but the Bodo explosion in the Trans-Niger Pipeline was just five minutes after Shell arrived in that vicinity that the fire was stopped.”
While explaining the significant impact of the explosion, the SSYI president disassociates the incident from the threat made by ex-militants, CBOs, youth groups or pressure groups in the state or Niger Delta; calls for an in-depth investigation should be carried out.
He added, “It is obvious that the enemies of Rivers State can also take undue advantage of this particular circumstance, just like the state of emergency can also be a litmus test for what has happened.
“Was there any need for the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State? Go to Borno State where people are visiting. I can also recall vividly when the life of Hope Uzodinma was threatened; some hoodlums got into his house and attacked his private and official vehicles, yet a state of emergency was not declared in Imo State even when the governor’s life was threatened. Even here in the Niger Delta, a lot has happened, but a state of emergency was not declared.”
Speaking on the alleged biases over the suspension of Governor Fubara, Imeabe said, “If Tinubu is fair about suspending the governor, why didn’t he go further to suspend the perpetrator of the crisis that is taking place in the state, like Nyesom Wike? Why did he refuse to suspend the FCT minister?
“Several calls have been made in Asaba, Warri, Bayelsa and on the East-West Road, people protested, calling on Mr president to sack the FCT Minister but he didn’t see the need.
Emphasising more on the Rivers crisis, he stated, “I want to say that Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister, are responsible for this level of devastation and negative impact that we are getting from what is going on in Rivers State, and it’s so sad. Mr President has caused us a lot of economic hardship, and he is giving us more hardship.
“How can an elected democratic president suspend a democratically elected governor? He does not have the constitutional power to suspend a democratically elected governor; you don’t have.”
