Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has blasted President Bola Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Atiku described the President’s action as “political manipulation and outright bad faith.”
The 2023 presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused President Tinubu of being a “vested partisan actor” in the political crisis rocking Rivers State.
Atiku alleged that Tinubu’s administration “either enabled or failed to prevent the crisis.”
The former Vice President who took to his X handle posted: “His(Tinubu’s) blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful.”
Atiku, however, condemned the security breaches that led to the destruction of national infrastructure in Rivers.
He insisted that “the responsibility lies with the President.”
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility,” Atiku said.
“Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and Tinubu’s enablers in the Federal Government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he added.
According to the formervice president, Tinubu has ended up reversing the peace achieved in the Niger Delta under former President Umaru Yar’Adua.
He said that Tinubu’s administration had thrown the region “back into an era of violent unrest and instability.”
Atiku called on Nigerians to reject what he termed as a political scheme, insisting that the situation in Rivers should not be used as a tool for partisan interests.
