A large group of women have protested the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the ongoing emergency rule in the state, 9News Nigeria has learnt.
The demonstrators gathered outside the State Government House in Port Harcourt and led a procession through the streets of the city.
Chanting songs in solidarity with the suspended governor and holding placards, the women demanded the restoration of democratic leadership.
Governor Fubara was suspended in a controversial manner in March after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state. The federal government appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator to oversee affairs for an initial period of six months.
However, the protesting women accused the federal government of using the emergency rule to push a political agenda, not to address any real security threat.
“This imposition is not driven by any genuine threat to national security but is clearly a politically motivated manoeuvre aimed at subjugating our people and undermining our constitutional democracy,” the women said in a statement titled “Liberation Walk and Call for the Restoration of Democratic Leadership.”
They criticised the Sole Administrator, accusing him of acting beyond his powers and trying to take control of the state unjustly.
The protesters questioned why a state like Rivers, which has remained relatively peaceful, is under emergency rule, while more troubled states like Borno, Zamfara, and Kaduna have not received the same treatment.
“What we are witnessing is not governance—it is occupation. Not democracy, but autocracy,” the women declared.
The group made several demands, including: immediate reinstatement of Governor Fubara and other democratic institutions in Rivers State; an end to the military-style emergency rule, which they described as unconstitutional and unjustified; intervention from respected Nigerian leaders and diplomats to help reverse the decision; support from civil society and the international community to defend democracy in Rivers State.
They warned that women and youths in the state would no longer remain silent in the face of what they called repression and political takeover.
“Rivers State is the heart of the Niger Delta. Peace has prevailed in our communities. We will not allow anyone to steal our voices or subvert our will. Democracy must be restored,” the statement by the protesters added.
