House Of Reps Vote In Support Of Rivers State Emergency Rule

The House of Representatives has voted in support of the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas presided over the plenary and said 240 lawmakers attended the session on Thursday in Abuja.

However, the House has made some amendments to the proclamation. These include the set-up of a committee of eminent Nigerians to mediate on the matter during the period of emergency,

It also drew attention to the Constitutional provision that allows the National Assembly to make laws for a state if at any time the state assembly is unable to perform its functions, disagreeing with Tinubu’s position that the Federal Executive Council, FEC, would usurp this function.

The House of Representatives also said the state of emergency can be reviewed and terminated at any time within the initial six months, as proclaimed, based on progress made about peace.

President Tinubu on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in the South-South state and nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas, as the sole administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state.

He cited “latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today, there have been disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them”.