Tension escalated in Rivers State on Monday as hundreds of women took to the streets of Port Harcourt in a bold rally supporting the declaration of a state of emergency, calling for peace and denouncing the embattled Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The protest, which came just four days after a pro-Fubara demonstration demanding his reinstatement, painted a sharp contrast in public sentiment as the state’s political crisis deepens.
Chanting slogans and wielding placards that read “State of Emergency Is Constitutional,” “No Tribal War in Rivers State, No More Fubara,” and “We Need Peace, Not Fubara,” the women voiced a unified demand: stability over politics.
One of the rally’s organisers, Hon. Gladys Nweke, a former Vice Chairman of Etche Local Government Area, told reporters the march was a show of support for federal intervention.
“Since the declaration of the state of emergency in Rivers State, there has been peace. We no longer hear about killings and cult activities,” she said.
The protest signals growing division in the state as calls for calm clash with demands for political reinstatement.