The Socialist Workers League (SWL) expressed its unequivocal opposition to the state of emergency imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and called for its immediate reversal, in a statement released on Monday 23 March. The League’s National Chairperson Jamiu Towolawi and National Secretary Amara Nwosu signed the statement, where they described the declaration as an “imposition of martial law, by any name otherwise called,” highlighting that it includes the suspension of elected public officials, including the governor and legislators.
The SWL asserted that neither Governor Similaya Fubara nor Minister Nyesom Wike, who controls the legislature via proxy, represents the interests of the working-class people and youth in Rivers State. According to the statement, both politicians are primarily concerned with “controlling the resources of the oil-rich state,” while President Tinubu’s support for Wike is driven by “appreciation of the contrived victory of the APC in the presidential elections in the state in 2023” and strategic political interests for 2027.
The organisation expressed concern over the impact of the crisis on the people, emphasising that “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.”
Declaring “Enough is enough!”, the SWL pointed to the widespread opposition from Nigerians and civil society organisations, including trade unions, against what it termed “this coup of a declaration of state of emergency.” It also criticised the National Assembly, describing it as “a rubber stamp of the power-drunk executive arm of government,” asserting that the people can place no faith in either the legislature or the presidency.
Conclusively, the SWL called on the people of Rivers State to “take their fate in their hands” and urged the working class and their organisations to move beyond condemnation. “We must stand up together, mobilise and organise to force the government to reverse this anti-democratic action,” the statement read.
See the full statement below:
