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Nigeria Govt Declares State of Emergency in Oil-Rich Rivers State

President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency in oil-producing Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Oduand, and all elected lawmakers of the State House of Assembly over a political crisis and vandalism to pipelines. He nominated a retired vice admiral as caretaker to run the state's affairs for six months.

Tinubu has criticized the governor for not "taking any action to curtail" fresh incidents of pipeline vandalism reported in the last 24 hours, including a blast that resulted in a fire on the Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal. Police said they are investigating the cause of a blast in Rivers state that resulted in a fire.

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the declaration, saying the Tinubu's action "reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith".

InFocus

Loozrboy / Fickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

(file photo).

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