Tinubu Visited Democratic Armageddon On Nigeria, Wants To Grab Rivers – Olabode George

A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s emergency rule in Rivers State.

In an interview with New Telegraph, George stated that with the declaration, President Tinubu has visited democratic Armageddon in Nigeria, adding that we have to be extremely very careful.

According to the PDP Chieftain, President Tinubu wants to grab Rivers State.

He said the Rivers State crisis is a dispute between members of the state House of Assembly and the governor, adding that after the Supreme Court judgement, the governor addressed the state and said that there must be calm.

George said: “There are conditions; even if you want to declare any emergency or whatever. To me, what the President has done is the visit of a democratic Armageddon in Nigeria and we have to be extremely very careful.

“What was the prevailing situation in Rivers? Was there general violence across the state? There was a dispute between members of the state House of Assembly and the governor. After the Supreme Court judgement, the governor addressed the state and said that there must be calm.

“He even went to the extent of saying that he will meet the directives of the Supreme Court, even though the judgement itself from Supreme Court, you have had so many juries, you know, panels that have looked at it.

“There was a professor, who emphatically stated that judgement was not right because there had been a judgement by a seven-panel member of the Supreme Court that this other one was by a five-panel member. And the governor made sure he addressed these people, talked to them. He was calm. He was civil. He was very humble.

“Despite that, President Tinubu invited PANDEF and the Ijaw leaders across this country from Ondo State to Akwa Ibom. And he spoke with them and asked them, to go home and resolve this. Only on the second day, Wike addressed the press.

“Where is that done? Once your boss has spoken, do you have to make any further comments that will aggravate the situation?

“And then by the third day, he had issued an order that was not cleared with the parliament, that these guys should be removed and to be suspended and people have come, I’m not a lawyer, I wish I was, but people like Femi Falana and so many other brilliant lawyers in this country have come to see that you don’t do things like this.

“You cannot sign a gazette and then you are now trying to send it to the parliament for approval. It should have been discussed and approved and then forwarded to you before you release it.

“That wasn’t what he did. The truth is that Tinubu wants to grab Rivers State, but the way he is going about it reminds me of what happened in 1962 in the then Western Region. I have here the comments, on the speech made by Chief Obafemi Awolowo at the federal parliament.

“You know what he said? He said before you decide to say that you will take over the Western Region because they declared the same emergency rule; he said: Mr. Prime Minister, I’m quoting him now, ‘what is a public emergency? What is a state of public emergency?’

“This is Chief Awolowo talking. May I say that my view quite candidly is that a state of public emergency arises only when there is widespread violence in any part of the federation? Was there widespread violence in Rivers State? I heard the Attorney General saying, the governor demolished the House of Assembly building.

“The governor replied that the building that he destroyed was for a revisit to rebuild it because it was already cracking up. They blew up a pipeline, so is this the first time they are blowing pipeline all over the place? Was there a widespread violation? So, why did you jump the gun? And this is a state controlled by the opposition.

“What are we now saying for the future? I want to advise, Mr. President, you can only define and know a crisis when it starts. You don’t know how it would end. I want to beg you, and I want to beg Nigerians, this is a revisitation of democratic Armageddon. Let us be careful.”