The former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress in Rivers State, Tonye Princewill, has faulted a recent call for the declaration of a state of emergency in the state, describing it as mischievous and comical.

Princewill said the state was very strategic to the economic well-being of Nigeria and warned those behind the call for a declaration of a state of emergency to rethink and embrace peace.

Recall that the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Caretaker Committee, Chief Tony Okocha, had demanded the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, following the violence that greeted the tenure of the local government chairmen in the state.

Okocha had alleged that Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state Police Command are ‘helpless,’ saying it was time the military was invited to prevent a further bloodbath, citing the killing of a policeman and a vigilante in Eberi-Omuma in Omuma Local Government Area of the state during a scuffle on the local government chairmen tenure elongation fracas.

Speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt, Princewill said the state has people with diverse interests, adding that the state has contributed to producing many Presidents in the country.

He warned that instigating a crisis in the state would hurt the country, given that the state is the treasure base of the nation.

Princewill, a philanthropist and businessman, further said the target of the proponents of the emergency rule is the governor, who they want removed from office.

He stated, “On the call for a declaration of state of emergency, I don’t think it’s worth giving any response. I think it’s stupid for one to call for a state of emergency.

“It’s either innocent or it’s mischievous; if it’s innocent let them know that the motive is to remove the governor. If it’s mischievous, it’s more of the same; it hasn’t reached that stage.

“People have to understand that Rivers has made Presidents. No president in this country can write his story without Rivers State, be it Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhamadu Buhari, with  support from Rotimi Amaechi and currently President Bola Tinubu and support from Nyesom Wike.”

He insisted that Rivers State “is so important, adding, “This state is very strategic. Rivers State is not called the treasure base of the nation for nothing. People are interested in this state from both far and beyond.

“What we need now is peace. These guys need to arrange themselves; whatever the issues are they have to calm down because as we are seeing it today, it can be something else tomorrow. I think the call is mischievous, it’s comical.”

He advised all the stakeholders in the state to work towards creating a peaceful atmosphere that promotes business and creates jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the state.