By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has weighed in on the crisis rocking Rivers State, urging President Tinubu to intervene for sanity to reign in the state.
Akpoti-Uduaghan noted that what’s going on in Rivers state is a threat to national security and stability.
The lawmaker made this call in a statement released by his Chief Press Secretary on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to let his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara to have full control of the apparatus of power in Rivers as constitutionally stipulated.
The Senator stressed that should those behind the unrest in the state have their way it will set a dangerous precedent for political violence and embolden those who see it as a means to realize their goals.
She noted that President Tinubu’s intervention is crucial at this material time to forestal anarchy in the state and trigger crisis capable of undermining the democratic progress of the entire country
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan emphasised the need for presidential intervention to protect citizens’ lives and property, ensure neutrality of state institutions to promote peace and justice and prevent further escalation of the crisis.
She said, “The situation in Rivers demands urgent attention, and I implore Mr President to take decisive action to prevent further escalation. We cannot afford to watch as the crisis deepens, threatening the stability of the region. President Tinubu’s leadership is crucial in resolving this impasse.
“If left unchecked, the crisis may undermine Nigeria’s democratic progress, embolden perpetrators of violence and electoral malpractices, and threaten national security and stability.”
The supremacy battle between Governor Fubara and his erstwhile ally, Nyesom Wike, has ignited political crisis in Rivers State.
The rift which has lasted for months, came to a head in the buildup to the just concluded local government elections.
The Wike faction had vehemently opposed the conduct of the elections while the Fubara faction kept pressing for it.
The election was eventually held amid pervasive atmosphere of gunshots and explosions.
The All Peoples Party(APP) swept all but one chairmanship seats in the 23 local government of the state.
The remaining one chairmanship seat was won by the Action Alliance.
The APP is believed to be loyal to Fubara and his loyalists who were displaced from the Peoples Democratic Party by Wike.
Meanwhile, hours after the election, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered the withdrawal of police personnel from the state and unsealed all the secretariats.
Hours after the IG’s order, hoodlums descended on at least three secretariats and set them ablaze
Akpoti-Uduaghan herself is not new to political shenanigans having fought her way through legal tussles to reclaim the mandate that ensured her a position in the red chamber.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress(APC) as the winner of the Senatorial Election held in February 2023.
But the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged her opponent’s victory at the Election Tribunal and won.
Her opponent took the case to the Court.of Appeal after the tribunal’s verdict.
But the court upheld the tribunal’s verdict and declared Akpoti-Uduaghan as the duly elected candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial district.
