Onyinyechi DURU
The South South Youth Initiative SSYI, has vehemently condemned the six-month suspension of the Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, describing it as sad and unacceptable.
In an interview with TPCN on Wednesday, the group called on the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to as a matter of urgency, withdraw the state of emergency declared in Rivers State.
They also urged the president to sack the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, accusing him of being responsible for the crisis in the state.
The SSYI National President, Mr Oscar Saviour Imeabe, accused Tinubu and Wike, of being responsible for what he described as the devastating crisis in the state.
To Tinubu, Imeabe said, “With immediate effect, cancel, withdraw the state of emergency that you declared in Rivers State and with immediate effect sack the FCT Minister because he has been responsible for the crisis we are having here.”
He also appealed to the youths of the state to remain calm and peaceful.
Speaking on the Trans Niger Pipeline fire outbreak and ONELGA pipeline explosion, the youth leader expressed the belief that the ex-militant groups may not be responsible for it.
He said, “With the current political crisis that is taking place in Rivers State, I seriously won’t like to attribute the recent pipeline explosions in Rivers State or Niger Delta to the ethnic nationalities or the ex-militant groups that actually made some threats.
“A lot of youths have made some threats, and some NGOs and civil society organizations also made threats, but none of these is attributed or related to the recent explosion that has been taking place.
“Going by what happened in Bodo yesterday, I can boldly say that the explosion that took place in Bodo was a calculated attempt by Mr President and Nyesom Wike to call for a state of emergency in Rivers State. An explosion took place in Kalabari, and it took more than two months to stop the fire, till today, it took months to stop the fire but the Bodo explosion in Trans Niger Pipeline, it was just five minutes before Shell arrived the vicinity where the fire was stopped.
“it is obvious that the enemies of Rivers State can also take undue advantage of this particular circumstance, just like the state of emergency can also be a litmus test for what has happened.
“Was there any need for the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State? Go to Borno State where people are visiting. I can also recall vividly when the life of Hope Uzodinma was threatened, some hoodlums got into his house, and attacked his private and official vehicles yet, a state of emergency was not declared in Imo State even when the governor’s life was threatened, even here in Niger Delta, a lot have happened but a state of emergency was not declared.”
On Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s suspension, he said, “if Tinubu is fair about suspending the governor, why didn’t he go further to suspend the perpetrator of the crisis that is taking place in the state, like Nyesom Wike, why did he refuse to suspend the FCT Minister.
“Several calls have been made in Asaba, Warri, Bayelsa, and on the East-West Road, people protested, calling on Mr President to sack the FCT Minister but he didn’t see the need.
“I want to say that Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Nyesom Wike the FCT Minister are responsible for this level of devastation and negative impact that we are getting on what is going on in Rivers State and it’s so sad. Mr president has caused us a lot of economic hardship and he is giving us more hardship.
“How can an elected democratic president suspend a democratically elected governor? He does not have the constitutional power to suspend a democratically elected governor, you don’t have.”
