JUST IN: Rivers People Sets To Organise And Force Out Tinubu’s Anti-Democratic Government
The Socialist Workers League (SWL) has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as an “imposition of martial law” and demanding its immediate reversal.
In a statement released on Monday and signed by National Chairperson, Jamiu Towolawi, and National Secretary, Amara Nwosu, the organisation criticised the suspension of elected public officials, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara and state legislators.
The SWL accused both Fubara and the minister, Nyesom Wike, of prioritising control over the oil-rich state’s resources rather than serving the interests of the working class.
It was also alleged that Tinubu’s backing of Wike was politically motivated, linked to the APC’s controversial 2023 electoral victory in Rivers and strategic interests for the 2027 elections.
The group lamented the impact of the political crisis on public services, stating that funds meant for education and healthcare were being squandered in the power struggle between rival factions of the ruling class.
Declaring “Enough is enough!”, the SWL joined voices with trade unions and civil society organisations in rejecting what it termed “a coup disguised as a state of emergency.”
The organisation also criticised the National Assembly, calling it a “rubber stamp” for the executive and urging Nigerians not to place their trust in lawmakers or the presidency.
The SWL called on the people of Rivers State to “take their fate into their own hands” and urged workers to move beyond condemnation and actively mobilise against the emergency rule.
“We must stand up together, organise, and force the government to reverse this anti-democratic action,” SWL said.
The statement read, “None of the sides in the conflict in Rivers State over the last two years represent the working-class people and youth in the state. Both Governor Similaya Fubara and Minister Nyesom Wike, who operated via proxy through the legislature, are interested in controlling the resources of the oil-rich state.
“And President Bola Tinubu has thrown his support behind Wike is not only in appreciation of the contrived victory of the APC in the presidential elections in the state in 2023, but also because of the role the president wants him to play again in 2027.
“But people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake in all of these. Resources that might have been expended on providing public education and healthcare for the masses were used for the fight between the two fractions of the ruling class in Rivers state.
“Enough is enough! Many Nigerians and organisations of the people, such as trade unions, have spoken vehemently against this coup of a declaration of state of emergency. The National Assembly, on the other hand has shown itself to be a rubber stamp of the power drunk executive arm of government. We can have no faith in them, just as we can have no faith in the presidency.”
“The people of Rivers State must take their fate in their hands. Working-class people and their organisations have to go beyond merely condemning the state of emergency. We must stand up together, mobilise and organise to force the government to reverse this anti-democratic action,” the group added.
