Nigerian lawmakers back president's emergency rule in oil-rich state

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Nigerian lawmakers approved on Thursday President Bola Tinubu's state of emergency measures and suspension of an opposition governor in oil-producing Rivers state in the Niger Delta region.

Tinubu announced the measures on Tuesday, saying they were aimed at halting vandalism of pipelines while a political crisis pitting factions of the opposition People's Democratic Party against each other threatens to disrupt oil production.

Police are investigating the cause of a blast in Rivers state that shut the Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal.

Some opposition parliamentarians had threatened to block the emergency measures but in the end both the upper Senate and House of Representatives gave their support.

The state of emergency in Rivers state will last six months.

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Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Nigeria