Renowned political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, calling it an unconstitutional overreach and an assault on democracy.
Reacting to the development through a post on his X handle, Utomi stated that the people of Rivers State have both the right and the duty to resist any imposed leadership they did not elect.
“The people have a duty and a right to resist anybody who they did not vote for stepping into Government House and running their affairs,” Utomi declared. “Such a dictated takeover would be either banditry or a coup d’état on the Rivers people.”
President Tinubu’s announcement, which includes the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has sparked outrage among legal and political experts. Critics argue that the move violates the constitutional process and sets a dangerous precedent for Nigerian democracy.
Utomi further criticized the hypocrisy of those justifying the emergency rule, reminding Nigerians that many of them had previously opposed similar actions.
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“What is tragic,” he noted, “is that those doing all these anti-people things are on video and press report records lampooning similar decisions in the past.”
His remarks align with growing condemnation from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and civil society groups, who argue that Tinubu’s decision lacks constitutional backing and undermines the principles of federalism.
As tensions mount, the fate of Rivers State’s governance hangs in the balance, with political observers warning of potential legal battles and public resistance to the federal intervention.
Read different tweets by Utomi on state of emergency declaration on Rivers below:
“OMG. State of emergency in Rivers. The crisis is coming faster than I feared. Elders and reasonable people must act fast now. We do not deserve this coming anarchy. But the lesson is clear. You cannot divorce character and values from a political order and not expect to reap a whirlwind
“Compassion where art thou. How is it possible that agents of the people can make choices they know will harm so many innocents for the sake of their egos and material benefits of state capture. Who crushed the humanity of some in power in Nigeria. How do they go to sleep? Now the pipelines are being blown up. More Wahala is brewing all over. They abandon live and let live or thinking win-win as they pound their chest saying my way or the highway and in the end find a lose-lose outcome and wonder what happened.
“The conscience of real men is now on trial in Nigeria. It was a time like this that led us to founding the Concerned Professionals 32 years ago to resist the annulment of the June12 elections. I urge the people of Rivers State to turn to none-violent resistance.
“Enemies of the people will push them to kill each other. But they must say No. They should learn from Ghandi and Martin Luther King jnr. And the rest of Nigeria have a duty to stand with them. Elders should stand up now or stand shame-faced before God in not too long.
“The people have a duty and a right to resist anybody who they did not vote for stepping into Government house and running their affairs. Such dictated takeover would be either banditry or a coup d’etat on the Rivers people.
“What is tragic is that those doing all these anti-people things are on video and press report records lampooning similar decisions in the past.”
“What went wrong in Nigeria. The Judiciary resisted more the soldiers. And the soldiers respected their standing up for the rule of law. Freedom of expression was such that we protested so frequently under the military. When police killed one student in Ibadan in 1971 the protest went on for years. Universities were shut down in 1974 for those protests. I was a leader in one of them. Now a kid does a social media statement and a fascist state terrorizes her with NYSC officials and when they dare do what was routine in our time, street protest, a massacre results. Please how did we get here. Where is the freedom we fought for.”