Lawmakers support emergency rule in oil-rich area of Nigeria
(MENAFN) Nigeria's parliament has approved President Bola Tinubu’s state of emergency declaration and the suspension of opposition Governor Siminalayi Fubara in the oil-rich Rivers State, following a series of attacks on crude oil pipelines. Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, and locally elected legislators from 2023 for six months, accusing them of failing to act against the ongoing pipeline vandalism by militants. The president appointed a retired Navy chief as the state's administrator, as the region is located in the volatile Niger Delta.
This move comes after months of tensions between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, both members of the opposition People’s Democratic Party. In a national address, Tinubu stated that Rivers State had been paralyzed by the crisis.
The Nigerian Bar Association criticized the decision, arguing that the state of emergency was not justified and that the constitution does not grant the president the power to suspend elected officials. Some opposition lawmakers also threatened to block the measures, but on Thursday, both the House of Representatives and the Senate endorsed Tinubu's actions.
Rivers State is a major oil-producing region that has long faced issues with sabotage and vandalism of pipelines, severely disrupting production and exports. Recently, an explosion occurred in the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni area, following an earlier blast on the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline, which Shell had divested from to Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings. Shell has faced legal battles over environmental damage caused by oil spills, although the company attributes most leaks to illegal crude extraction.
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