Politics
Senate, Reps Endorse Emergency Rule In Rivers, As Akpabio Shuts Down Dickson
The House also made recommendations to the proclamation.
The House recommended that a national committee should be set up to mitigate and restore peace to Rivers State.
Secondly, that the National Assembly should take over the activities of the state Assembly within six months.
At the upper chamber, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage after a closed-door session that lasted over one hour.
According to him, the Senate relied on its Orders 133, 134, 135 and 136.
Earlier, Senator Akpabio disclosed that President Tinubu had written the Senate a letter of proclamation on the six-month suspension he slammed on Gov Fubara.
The letter read, aloud at plenary by Sen. Akpabio, said: “In compliance with the provisions of Section 305, Subsection 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, I hereby forward, for the Constitution of the Senate, copies of the official Gazette of the State of Emergency Proclamation 2025.
“The main features of the proclamation are as follows:
“A declaration of a State of Emergency in one State of the Federation, namely, River State;
“The suspension from office of the Governor, his Deputy, and all members of the State House of Assembly;
“An appointment of Vice-Admiral Ibokete Ibas, as the Administrator to administer the State subject to any instruction or regulation as made from time to time be issued by me;
“While I look forward to the expeditious Constitution of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
Sen. Akpabio, after reading the letter, said: “This letter is committed to the Committee of the entire Senate for Immediate passage.”
Immediately after the letter, Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West) raised a point of Order 133 that has to do with having a closed-door session.
Also, Senator Dickson heatedly argued during plenary over the provision of Senate rules regarding the handling of President Tinubu’s state of emergency declaration in Rivers State.
During the Senate plenary, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi moved a motion to reorder the Order Paper to allow the Senate to handle the debate on the state of emergency in Rivers before other motions itemized for legislative action.
As Sen. Bamidele stood to point out the order, Sen. Dickson raised a point of order, which the Senate president was hesitant to oblige.
Rather than giving Sen. Dickson the floor, Sen. Akpabio reminded him of how the former Governor of Bayelsa State had gone on television to say he wouldn’t support the Senate on the state of emergency in Rivers.
While Sen. Dickson insisted on getting Sen. Akpabio’s attention through a point of order, the Senate President asked him to put off his mic.
Sen. Akpabio said, “Senator Seriake Dickson, let’s not argue. If we argue, it won’t be good for any of us.
“We are all distinguished people. You were a former governor, and I was a former governor. Please turn off your mic and sit down. I watched you on television. You said whatever the Senate does, the Senate will never go with you.
“I said you said whatever the Senate does, the Senate will never have your vote.
“I don’t know, but if you have already made up your mind to go on television when the Senate has not done anything or considered any issue, I am not arguing with you, but I say, please allow me to preside.”
Reacting, Sen. Dickson said, “Mr. Senate President, you know we must have mutual respect for all our colleagues. And I do have regard for you, particularly, as our presiding officer and I think that should be reciprocal.”
He maintained that his point of order was to draw the senators’ attention to the provision requiring them to break into a closed-door meeting first.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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