Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has called on Rivers State’s political “gladiators” to take a cue from the six-month emergency rule, describing it as a misstep that should not have happened.
Obi urged state lawmakers, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and other leaders to own up to their faults, embrace peace, and strive for reconciliation after characterising the intervention as a constitutional violation that damaged Nigeria’s democracy.
In Peter Obi’s words, “The restoration of democracy in Rivers State after six months of needless disruption remains a sour side of our democracy today. It was a constitutional breach that will hurt our democracy for a long time.”
Recall that on March 18, 2025, President Bola Tinubu proclaimed a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Fubara, Deputy Ngozi Odu, for six months initially. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Bias (retd.) was appointed as the state’s sole administrator.
However, after six long months “needless disruption” Tinubu on Wednesday announced that the emergency rule has been suspended, citing “a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding” based on the intelligence that was available.
Peter Obi reacting to the presidential statement wrote on his X account that the suspension violated Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, which only allows for such extraordinary powers in the event of serious threats to national security or public safety.
He said, “I just hope that some lessons were learned by all the gladiators in the Rivers State impasse. Great minds remind us that the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
“A true leader is the one who admits his/her mistakes, is smart enough to learn from them, and is strong enough to correct them.”
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The former governor of Anambra added that political gladiators in Rivers State may learn from the problem.
He congratulated the people and residents of Rivers State for their endurance in the face of provocations and the long standing political crisis.
Peter Obi urged the state’s members of the House of Assembly, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and all other political figures to embrace peace and move forward.
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