By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
The Rivers State National Assembly Caucus has strongly rebutted claims by Senator Henry Seriake Dickson suggesting that Rivers State is under emergency rule and military control, saying such remarks are “misleading, unguarded and unnecessary.”
Addressing a press conference at the National Assembly in Abuja on Friday, members of the caucus—comprising senators and members of the House of Representatives—called out the former Bayelsa governor over his Democracy Day comments, in which he said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should have used the June 12 occasion to end the emergency rule in Rivers and reinstate suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Rep. Kingsley Chinda, House Minority Leader and spokesperson for the caucus, said there is no military rule in Rivers State. According to him, the administrator currently overseeing the state, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ibas, is a retired officer, not an active military personnel imposing martial law.
“To label the current administration as ‘military rule’ is intellectually dishonest and politically provocative,” Chinda said. “The declaration of emergency in Rivers was a constitutional response to grave threats to peace and governance. It was neither a partisan action nor an assault on democracy.”
Chinda referenced the Supreme Court judgment of February 28, 2025, which ruled that there was effectively no functioning government in Rivers State. “The President’s swift decision averted a full-blown crisis. Without that intervention, Rivers could have descended into chaos,” he added.
He further recalled that even the suspended Governor Fubara had publicly appreciated President Tinubu for stepping in during the height of the crisis, questioning why Senator Dickson was, in his words, “crying more than the bereaved.”
The Minority Leader also described Dickson’s remarks as unbecoming of a senator, and even more so for someone who is a former governor and a retired police officer. “As a trained officer, he should be advocating for law and order, not stoking public confusion,” Chinda noted.
Backing the statement, Senator Orwell Onyesoh of Rivers East said the Rivers Caucus felt compelled to respond because Dickson’s assertions could inflame tensions and distract from ongoing efforts to rebuild peace and governance in the state.
“I believe my colleague’s energy would be better spent tackling the challenges in Bayelsa, particularly infrastructural development. Rivers State is already on a path to stability. Let’s not derail that progress,” Onyesoh said.
The joint statement was co-signed by Sen. Barry Mpigi, Sen. Orwell Onyesoh, Hon. Dumnamene Dekor, Hon. Solomon Bob, Hon. Felix Nweke, Hon. Kelechi Nwogu, Hon. Cyril Hart Godwin, Hon. Blessing Chigeru Amadi and Hon. Victor Obuzor all representing various constituencies in Rivers State.
The lawmakers reaffirmed their support for President Tinubu’s constitutional intervention and urged political leaders, especially those outside the state, to resist the temptation of politicizing the delicate situation for personal or partisan gain.