By PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the end of the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, restoring Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Nma Odu, and the State House of Assembly to office from Thursday, 18 September.
In a nationwide broadcast on Wednesday, President Tinubu said the emergency, declared on 18 March, 2025, was necessary to halt a “total paralysis of governance” caused by a bitter rift between the executive and legislative arms of government in the state.
President Bola Tinubu
The crisis had pitted four pro-governor lawmakers against 27 members aligned with the Speaker, paralysing lawmaking and preventing the passage of the state budget.
Tinubu noted that even the Supreme Court had declared there was “no government in Rivers State” at the height of the standoff.
“It therefore became painfully inevitable that to arrest the drift towards anarchy in Rivers State, I was obligated to invoke the powers conferred on me by the Constitution to proclaim the state of emergency,” Tinubu explained.
The President expressed satisfaction that stakeholders in Rivers had shown “a new spirit of understanding” and a readiness to return to democratic governance.
Governor Fubara
“I therefore do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I had pronounced at the beginning,” he declared.
While thanking the National Assembly, traditional rulers, and the people of Rivers State for their support during the emergency period, Tinubu reminded governors and legislators nationwide of the need for harmony between arms of government.
“The people who voted us into power expect to reap the fruits of democracy.
“That expectation will remain unrealised in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity,” he warned.
The lifting of the emergency paves the way for Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the House of Assembly led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule to resume their constitutional duties from Thursday.
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