From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Hours after the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, the state has continued to maintain a calm and peaceful atmosphere, contrary to the situation before the announcement of the suspension of the executive and legislature.
This is in contrast to widespread fears from outside the state that Rivers would be overtaken by disturbances.
Social media stories about blasts at NNPC facilities at Cawthorne Channel in Degema Local Government Area of the state have been proven to be an old video of a fire incident that occurred sometime in February.
Insider sources at the NNPC Ltd Port Harcourt Refinery in Eleme also dismissed the story that the place was engulfed in fire, saying it was not true.
A source, who would not allow his name to be mentioned as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said: “There’s no cause for alarm. It’s a normal production procedure. When too much liquid is released to the plant, it increases the flare, and the fire service has to pump water to cool the flare column. The refinery is not on fire.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Sole Administrator of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, had yet to arrive in Rivers State to assume office, although he had been sworn in by President Bola Tinubu.
However, the city of Port Harcourt and various adjoining areas of the state capital have remained calm and peaceful, with people going about their normal businesses unperturbed, though discussing the developments.
After touring different local government areas of the state on Wednesday afternoon, TheSun,ng can authoritatively report that there was no evidence of an unusual security beef-up.
Visits to parts of the Port Harcourt metropolis, Obio/Akpor, and Emohua local government areas showed no military or unusual security deployments, either on the major roads or adjoining streets.