The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition party in Rivers State, has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the state.
APC made this call in reaction to the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State since the swearing-in of Siminalayi Fubara as Governor of the state.
Addressing the press in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Wednesday, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC in Rivers, Chief Tony Okocha, said, “Rivers State is at war. And the dramatis personae who are responsible for the mayhem that has claimed lives are known.
“The Governor is helpless, the police is helpless. Therefore the APC in Rivers State is calling for a state of emergency in Rivers State as a way of taming the mayhem, and the upsurge that is going on in the state. I call on the federal government to act fast in this regard.”
This call by the APC is coming shortly after Governor Fubara swore in newly appointed caretaker chairman for the 23 local government areas of the state.
This event took place on Wednesday morning at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the capital of the state, with high-level security measures in place.
This news platform reports that the appointment of the CTC chairmen was made a day following the submission of the list to the state House of Assembly, which is currently under the leadership of Speaker Victor Jumbo.
It should be mentioned that the Federal Government has the authority to declare a state of emergency in the face of a natural disaster, civil disorder, military conflict, disease outbreak, epidemic, or any other threat to public health and safety.