Rivers State Women Show Massive Support for Tinubu's State of Emergency

A considerable number of women in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, took to the streets in solidarity with the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu. The women mostly dressed in white and displaying placards with captions like "Prosecute the Bombers of Rivers Assembly" and "State of Emergency is Constitutional, voiced their support for the Federal Government's intervention.

Furthermore, in apparent show of support for President Tinubu's recent actions including the appointment of Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator of Rivers state after suspending the elected governor Siminalayi Fubara, the women chanted solidarity songs and slogans as they converged and moved through major routes in the state capital.

Nevertheless, an earlier protest on April 11 had been staged by a separate group of women who opposed the state of emergency, calling on former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, and Goodluck Jonathan to intervene and restore democratic governance in Rivers.

Recall that President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on March 18 in response to an ongoing political crisis in the oil-rich state. As part of the declaration, governor Sim Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were suspended for an initial period of six months.

Following the suspension, Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired naval officer, was immediately appointed to administer the state during the emergency period.