Tinubu Lifts State of Emergency in Rivers, Reinstates Fubara, Legislators
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday announced the cessation of the six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, declaring that Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the State House of Assembly will resume their offices effective September 18, 2025.
The President, in a nationwide broadcast, said the emergency measure—proclaimed on March 18, 2025—was necessary to arrest the “total paralysis of governance” that had engulfed Rivers following a bitter political standoff between the governor and the majority faction of the State Assembly.
He recalled that during the crisis, vital economic assets, including oil pipelines, were vandalised while the legislative impasse prevented the passage of the state’s appropriation bill. Even the Supreme Court, he noted, had ruled that there was no functional government in the state.
“Having exhausted all peaceful interventions without success, it became painfully inevitable that I invoke the powers conferred on me by Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to proclaim the state of emergency,” Tinubu stated.
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The President praised the National Assembly for swiftly approving the proclamation in the interest of peace and stability. He also expressed gratitude to traditional rulers and the people of Rivers State for their cooperation during the period of emergency rule.
While acknowledging that the declaration faced stiff opposition, with over 40 legal challenges filed in various courts, Tinubu maintained that it was a constitutional necessity to forestall anarchy. “It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation,” he added.
Tinubu, however, expressed satisfaction that intelligence reports now indicate a “new spirit of understanding, robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm” among Rivers’ political stakeholders to return to democratic governance.
“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 of it,” he said.
With the lifting of the emergency, Governor Fubara and Speaker Martins Amaewhule, alongside their colleagues in the executive and legislative arms, are expected to resume work on Wednesday.
The President urged leaders across the country to draw lessons from the Rivers episode, stressing that only peace and cooperation between the executive and legislature can guarantee the delivery of democratic dividends.
“Let this realisation drive your actions at all times,” Tinubu appealed.
By PRNigeria
