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CUPP condemns Rivers emergency rule as federal overreach despite welcoming its end
In Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has welcomed the lifting of the state of emergency in Rivers State but strongly condemned its initial imposition.
The group described the emergency as a blatant federal overreach and a direct attack on Nigeria’s democratic values.
CUPP’s National Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, made these remarks in Abuja on Wednesday.
READ ALSO: Rivers elders urge peace as emergency rule ends Sept 18
He pointed out that suspending the elected governor, deputy governor, and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months due to a political dispute was an unconstitutional seizure of power that should never have taken place.
Ameh stated, “CUPP firmly believes that democracy thrives on the will of the people and the independence of institutions, not through arbitrary suspensions or presidential proclamations.
“President Bola Tinubu’s invocation of a state of emergency on March 18, 2025, citing a feud between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister Nyesom Wike, alongside isolated incidents of pipeline vandalism, failed to meet the constitutional requirements under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution.
“This action, executed without the request of elected state officials, undermined the mandate of Rivers State voters and set a dangerous precedent for the erosion of state autonomy in Nigeria’s federation.
“We demand immediate transparency from the Presidency. The legal memo justifying this emergency, the financial costs incurred, and a comprehensive review of the rights violated during this period must be published without delay. Nigerians deserve clarity to restore trust in our governance system.
“CUPP questions the justice of this episode. The six months stripped from Governor Fubara’s tenure and the state assembly’s operations cannot be reclaimed, representing a clear violation of constitutional provisions on elected terms.
“By assuming unchecked authority, President Tinubu has acted as a ‘Proclaimer General,’ threatening the democratic balance of our federation.
“We are profoundly disappointed by the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case brought by PDP governors challenging the emergency.
“This failure to uphold constitutional authority allowed an illegal act to persist, exposing the Court’s complicity in prioritizing political interests over the rule of law.
“Such hypocrisy weakens the judiciary’s credibility and endangers Nigeria’s democratic foundation.
“CUPP calls on all Nigerians—political parties, civil society, and citizens—to reject this dangerous precedent and defend our democracy.
“The will of the people, expressed through free and fair elections, must remain sacrosanct.
“History will judge this episode as either a fleeting misstep or the beginning of a slide toward authoritarianism.
“We urge the government to recommit to constitutional governance and ensure such overreach is never repeated.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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