President Bola Tinubu has lifted the six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, announcing that full democratic governance will return to the oil-rich state from midnight of September 18.
In a national broadcast on Wednesday, President Tinubu declared the end of the emergency rule that was proclaimed on March 18, 2025, describing it as “a painful but necessary step” to rescue the state from what he called “a total paralysis of governance.”
The President further recalled that Rivers had been engulfed in deep political hostilities between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly, which crippled governance, triggered insecurity, and drew a damning verdict from the Supreme Court that “there was no government in Rivers State.”
Tinubu said, “The Governor could not present an Appropriation Bill to the House. Oil pipelines were being vandalised. The legislature was split into two camps, and all efforts to broker peace failed. It therefore became inevitable to invoke the powers conferred on me by Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to proclaim a state of emergency.”
Under the proclamation, the Governor Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Udo and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were suspended for six months, while an interim administration took charge of the state’s affairs. But the arrangement will expires at midnight today.
Tinubu also expressed gratitude to the National Assembly for its speedy approval of the emergency rule and also thanked Rivers’ traditional rulers and residents for their cooperation. The President further acknowledged those who challenged the proclamation in court, describing the legal battles as a healthy expression of democracy.
The President revealed that recent intelligence reports pointed to “a new spirit of understanding and readiness” among the state’s political actors, creating an atmosphere conducive for the restoration of normal governance.
Tinubu then said, “With effect from midnight today, the emergency in Rivers State shall end. Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, alongside members of the legislature, will resume work in their offices.”
The President urged governors and state assemblies across Nigeria to learn lessons from the Rivers crisis, emphasising that peace, order, and cooperation between the executive and legislature remain indispensable for delivering the dividends of democracy.
“Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Tinubu concluded.
