The Rivers State National Assembly Caucus has issued a strong warning to Senator Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa West, urging him to desist from making inflammatory statements capable of inciting violence in Rivers State. The Caucus advised that if Senator Dickson wishes to foment unrest, he should confine such actions to his home state.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Caucus expressed dismay over Senator Dickson’s recent remarks criticizing the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and faulting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,, for not reinstating the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara during his June 12 Democracy Day address.
The Caucus clarified that Rivers State is not under military rule. The current Administrator, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ibas, like Senator Dickson, is a retired officer and now a civilian, subject to democratic norms and oversight. Labelling the administration as “military rule” is misleading and irresponsible.
The state of emergency, they noted, was a constitutional intervention made necessary by rising political instability and affirmed by the Supreme Court’s February 28th, 2025 ruling, which declared the absence of a functional government in the state.
The Caucus commended the President’s decisive action, which averted a full-blown crisis, emphasizing that the move was constitutional under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution.
