Port Harcourt witnessed competing demonstrations as a coalition of women groups marched in support of President Tinubu’s emergency rule in Rivers State, directly countering last week’s pro-Fubara protests. Dressed in white and carrying placards reading “State of Emergency is Constitutional” and “We Don’t Want Fubara,” the protesters endorsed suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s removal and backed Administrator Ibok-Ette Ibas.
The demonstration, led by former Rivers Social Welfare Commissioner Ifeyinwa Aguma (a known ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike), escalated the political standoff stemming from Tinubu’s six-month suspension of Fubara, his deputy, and the state assembly. The president had cited critical security concerns following pipeline explosions as justification for the “inevitably compelling” emergency declaration.
While the protesting women praised Ibas’ interim administration as lawful under constitutional provisions, PDP governors have filed legal challenges against the move. The dueling protests reveal deepening fractures in Rivers politics, with Wike’s faction openly supporting federal intervention against Fubara’s camp.
Analysts note the crisis reflects broader tensions between Tinubu’s administration and opposition strongholds, with Rivers’ strategic oil economy heightening stakes. As courts prepare to weigh the emergency rule’s constitutionality, the state remains polarized between federal loyalists and defenders of democratic governance.
