From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Rivers State caucus, in the National Assembly, has berated former Bayelsa State governor, Senator Serieke Dickson, over his comments on the Emergency Rule in the state.
The caucus, at a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, said Dickson’s comments were allegedly inflammatory and has the potential to jeopardize the fragile peace in Rivers State.
The former Bayelsa State governor, while addressing journalists, after a Democracy Joint session of the National Assembly, which was addressed by President Bola Tinubu, slammed the President for following to acknowledge the situation in Rivers State, which he described as unconstitutional, in his address.
However, the minority leader, House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, who spoke on behalf of the Rivers State caucus, expressed concern over Senator Dickson’s condemnation of the Emergency Rule in the state.
According to him, “Senator Dickson’s attempt to portray the emergency rule as military governance is not only false but intellectually dishonest.
“The current Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ibas, is a retired officer now functioning under civilian authority. Just as Senator Dickson, a retired police corporal, is no longer an active service member, Ibas too is a civilian. It is grossly inaccurate to insinuate that Rivers is under military rule.”
Chinda noted that “even Governor Fubara himself publicly thanked President Tinubu for stepping in to avert total anarchy. It is therefore curious that Senator Dickson, an outsider to our state, has chosen to champion a false narrative and stir up tension.”