President Bola Tinubu recently declared a state of emergency in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State, in the country’s south-south region.
Prior to this decision, governance in Rivers State was practically paralysed as a result of a power struggle between the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Rivers is at the heart of Nigeria’s once restive oil producing Niger Delta region and the emergency rule declaration was pronounced following reports of explosions rocking oil pipelines. Security scholar Al Chukwuma Okoli unpacks the implications of this development for security in the oil region previously known for militancy.
