Osun APC chieftain backs Tinubu on Rivers emergency call
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as a necessary step taken in good faith to restore peace, order, and good governance.
Speaking in Osogbo on Thursday, Oyintiloye, a former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), stated that critics of the decision were either misinformed or playing politics with the lives of Rivers citizens.
He noted that the President acted in accordance with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly.
According to him, the temporary measure was not aimed at undermining democracy in Rivers State but rather at preventing the escalating political crisis from plunging the state into anarchy.
Commending Tinubu’s boldness in addressing the situation, Oyintiloye said the President’s intervention demonstrated fatherly concern for the people of Rivers State.
He also pointed out that this was not the first time a sitting president had declared a state of emergency in Nigeria. He appealed to all relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the newly appointed administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), in restoring peace to the state.
“Since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999, Tinubu is the third president to invoke Section 305 of the Constitution. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo did so twice—in Plateau (2004) and Ekiti (2006) during his tenure. Similarly, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno States at the height of insurgency in 2013,” Oyintiloye stated.
