BENIN CITY – THE Health of Mother Health Foundation (HOMEF) has condemned the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State and also criticized the appointment of a retired military officer as the sole administrator which it said was a veiled attempt to continue militarize the region despite not being a region ravaged by terrorism.

The Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey said the action of President Bola Tinubu leaves much to be desired saying that the suspension of two arms of government and the appointment of a military sole administrator was an assault on democracy.

A statement by HOMEF Media/Communication Lead Oilwatch Africa Communications Officer, Kome Odhomor quoted Bassey as saying that “the president’s statement is disturbing, one-sided, and unconvincing.

“Although the actions that led to the murky situation in Rivers State have been a national embarrassment, declaring a State of Emergency worsens the scenario. A return of military rule in any part of the Niger Delta is an egregious assault on the psyche of traumatised people. Any
action that awakes the nightmarish memories of 1990 must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

“We will not forget that the region was, and has remained, militarized at the pleasure of multinational oil companies. Communities were levelled, and blood flowed across the land and creeks. In recent months, egoistic barriers have been raised to block dialogue and civility, and militarisation is now hoisted as a panacea to the rotten situation. Will military rule allow the good people of Rivers State to breathe? Is it a ploy to further militarise the region, deepen impunity, and reopen closed wells for barrels of oil under the protection of barrels of guns? There are many questions to ask and many rivers to cross in Rivers State.

“HOMEF finds very unacceptable, the premise that the State of Emergency became necessary because oil pipelines were being threatened. Governors of the states are not the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Moreover, decrepit oil facilities have been blowing up on their own accord, without third party interferences, suggesting that incidents in the oil fields are acts of sabotage without due investigation is specious.

“HOMEF objects to any attempts, through means such as militarisation, to expand oil drilling operations in the Niger Delta using military force or cover. Such attempts will be ill-advised considering the ecological harms in the region that have reduced lives to a mere whisper.

“We call for the immediate restoration of democratic governance in Rivers State and respect for the rule of law and the Constitutional order because there is nowhere in the Nigerian Constitution that gives the President the power to replace democratic institutions with military rule. We demand strict adherence to the rule books regarding any resource extraction or divestment decisions and responsible actions that do not undermine our democratic institutions.”



https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/homef-rejects-state-of-emergency-in-rivers/