Market News

Declaring a state of emergency in oil-rich Rivers State is misguided. The region’s problems are political, and an army crackdown won’t help. 

When a state of emergency was declared in parts of Nigeria in 2013, Bola Tinubu, then a fiery opposition leader, was apoplectic. He condemned the declaration by former President Goodluck Jonathan as a “ploy to subvert constitutional democracy” and warned it was “a potentially destructive path to take.”

Now, as president, Tinubu’s words have come back to bite him. Hours after the March 18 explosion on the Trans-Niger Pipeline — imperiling the 245,000 barrels of crude oil and condensates it transports daily — in Rivers State, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the richly endowed “oil capital” of the country. 

He suspended the governor, his deputy and all lawmakers for six months and installed a retired vice admiral as caretaker of the region. Echoing Tinubu’s words from 12 years ago, the Nigerian Bar Association condemned the declaration as “an assault on democracy” and said it violates Section 305 of the constitution, which outlines strict conditions for emergency rule. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said “it reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith.”