By Shadrach Okon
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of working behind to instigate the ongoing crisis in Rivers State.
Atiku made the accusation shortly after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday evening of 18th March.
According to him, “The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith. Anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers. His blatant refusal — or calculated negligence — in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful.”
Atiku in his message posted on his official Facebook page described as unforgivable failure for President Bola Tinubu to watch the Niger Delta thrown into violent unrest due to selfish political calculations.
“It is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability — undoing the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Years of progress have been recklessly erased in pursuit of selfish political calculations.”
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility. Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms.” Atiku added.
