By Disun Amosun
The Rivers State National Assembly (NASS) caucus has come out strong to condemn Senator Henry Seriake Dickson over what it termed his unwarranted comments on the State’s emergency rule as expressed a recent press briefing.
Sen. Dickson at separate interviews granted to newsmen after President Tinubu’s June 22 Address to the Joint Session of the NASS expressed anger at the Emergency Rule in Rivers State and chided the president for not using the occasion to restore suspended Gov. Siminilayi Fubara to office.
“As members of the Rivers State Caucus in the National Assembly, we watched with utter dismay, th unnecessary falsehood of Senator Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa West Senatorial District in his on-the-spot and formal Press briefings on the development in Rivers State”, the Chairman of the Rivers State NASS Caucus and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Rep. Kingsley Chinda stated to newsmen on Friday.
Chinda’s briefing, attended by 10 Rivers NASS caucus members composed of Senators and Rep. Members, prominent among whom are Sen. Barry Mpigi, Sen. Allwell Onyenso, Rep. Dumnamene Deko, Rep. Solomon Bob and Rep. Blessing Chigeru among others.
The caucus leader stated that Rivers State is not under military rule, noting just as the current Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ibas, is a retired military officer and Senator Dickson is a retired police personnel, both cannot be regarded as members of the current armed forces.
He said the implication of retirement is clear, pointing out that once an officer retires, he becomes a civilian, and any leadership role he occupies afterwards is subject to civilian laws, norms, and democratic oversight.
To then label the current administration as “military rule” as did Sen. Dickson is therefore misleading and intellectually disingenuous. Rep. Chinda said.
According to the caucus leader, “The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State was a necessary constitutional intervention aimed at preserving peace, protecting lives, and restoring institutional order and was not taken lightly; but prompted by the rising tide of political instability, executive rascality, and disregard for democratic institutions, which position was affirmed by the supreme court judgement of February 28th 2025, when the Court affirmed that there was no Government in Rivers state”
“It is imperative to highlight that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted swiftly and decisively to prevent the escalation of violence and systemic breakdown that loomed over Rivers state, noting that the step taken by the President averted a full-blown crisis, which would have overwhelmed the mechanisms of governance and civil society.
Chinda asserted that he state of emergency declared in Rivers State is not a breach of the Constitution, rather, a legitimate tool provided in Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to restore sanity when democratic structures are under serious threat.
