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Nigeria declares emergency in Rivers State due to pipeline vandalism

The Nigerian president Bola Tinubu declared an emergency in the oil-producing Rivers State on Tuesday and suspended its governor, his deputy, and all legislators.

Tinubu said in a TV broadcast that he received security reports the past two days about "disturbing vandalism of pipelines" by militants, without the governor taking action to curb them.

Tinubu added, "With these and many other factors, no responsible and good president will allow this grave situation to continue and not take remedial measures prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation within the state."

The police said they were investigating earlier the cause of an explosion in Rivers state, which resulted in fire on Nigeria's Trans Niger Pipeline. This is a major oil pipeline transporting crude oil from the onshore oilfields towards the Bonny Export Terminal.

Rivers in the Niger Delta is a major crude oil source. In the past, militants have blown up pipelines to halt production and exports.

State officials are embroiled in an ongoing political crisis that pits factions of the People's Democratic Party against one another. State lawmakers also threatened to impeach both the governor and deputy.

Tinubu’s state of emergency allows the federal government make regulations for running the state, and also allows authorities to deploy security forces easily to bring order when needed.

Tinubu appointed a retired vice-admiral as caretaker for the first six months to manage the affairs of Rivers State.

The President said that he sent a copy to the National Assembly which could either accept or reject his decision.

Tinubu said: "For the sake of clarity, this declaration will not affect the judicial branch of Rivers State which will continue to operate in accordance with its constitutional mandate." (Reporting and writing by Camillus Dzirutwe, Editing by Gareth Jones & Sandra Maler.)

(source: Reuters)