What prompted the move? Tinubu acted after an explosion rocked the Trans-Niger Pipeline this week, disrupting $14 million worth of daily crude oil production. The incident is still under investigation, but Tinubu accused Fubara of failing to act against gangs responsible for similar attacks in the past months that have been used to “bunker” or steal oil for sale on the black market.
However, critics argue that Tinubu’s real motive is to seize control of the oil-rich state, especially as Fubara belongs to the People’s Democratic Party, the main national opposition party to Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress. Fubara was already engaged in a power struggle with his predecessor, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, and political opponents were threatening the governor withimpeachment.
The Nigerian Bar Association called Tinubu’s move “unconstitutional,” and the PDP is refusing to recognize the state of emergency. It maintains that Fubara is still governor and that Tinubu has no constitutional authority to remove him, and it has called on the country’s National Assembly to overturn Tinubu’s decision.