DICKSON SLAMS TINUBU OVER SILENCE ON RIVERS EMERGENCY RULE DURING DEMOCRACY DAY SPEECH

Senator Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa West has decried President Bola Tinubu’s omission of the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State during his Democracy Day address, calling it “a betrayal of democratic values.” Speaking after a joint National Assembly session, Dickson expressed dismay that the President used the occasion to advance what he called “military-style suppression of democracy.”
Referring to Tinubu’s communication endorsing political appointments by Rivers State’s Sole Administrator, which was read in Senate plenary, Dickson accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of silencing constitutional objections. “This is unconstitutional governance, and what we are seeing in Rivers is a dangerous precedent,” Dickson stated. He stressed that the issue transcends partisanship and warned against federal overreach, citing Lagos and Kano as potential future targets of undemocratic intervention.