Gov Fubara Returns As Tinubu Lifts Rivers State Of Emergency
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced an end to the 6-month state of emergency rule declared in Rivers State. The president restored the Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, the Deputy Governor, Her Excellency Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, to resume work with immediate effect at midnight today, 18th September 2025.
The annulment was contained in a press statement from the President’s official social media Facebook page. The statement reads:
“I am happy to address you today on the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State. You will recall that on 18th March 2025, I proclaimed a state of emergency in the state.
“In my proclamation address, I highlighted the reasons for the declaration. The summary for context is that there was a total paralysis of governance in Rivers State, which had led to the Governor of Rivers State and the House of Assembly being unable to work together. Critical economic assets of the State, including oil pipelines, were being vandalised. The State House of Assembly was crisis-ridden, with members divided into two groups. Four members worked with the Governor, while 27 members opposed the Governor.
“The latter group supported the Speaker. As a result, the Governor could not present any Appropriation Bill to the House to enable him to access funds to run Rivers State’s affairs. That serious constitutional impasse brought governance in the State to a standstill. Even the Supreme Court, in one of its judgments in a series of cases filed by the Executive and the Legislative arms of Rivers State against each other, held that there was no government in Rivers State. My intervention and that of other well-meaning Nigerians to resolve the conflict proved abortive as both sides stuck rigidly to their positions to the detriment of peace and development of the State.”
President Tinubu expressed that the state of emergency was painfully inevitable in order to arrest the drift towards anarchy in Rivers State. “I was obligated to invoke the powers conferred on me by Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to proclaim the state of emergency. The offices of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and elected members of the State House of Assembly were suspended for six months in the first instance. The six months expire today, September 17th, 2025.”
He highlighted the role of the National Assembly, which, after critically evaluating the justification for the proclamation, took steps immediately, as required by the Constitution, to approve the declaration in the interest of peace and order in Rivers State.
He also thanked the traditional rulers and the good people of Rivers State for their support from the date of the declaration of the state of emergency until now.
He addressed and admitted being aware that there were a few voices of dissent against the proclamation, which led to their instituting over 40 cases in the courts in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa, to invalidate the declaration. That is the way it should be in a democratic setting. Some cases are still pending in the courts as of today. But what needs to be said is that the power to declare a state of emergency is an inbuilt constitutional tool to address situations of actual or threatened breakdown of public order and public safety, which require extraordinary measures to return the State to peace, order, and security.
“Considered objectively, we had reached that situation of total breakdown of public order and public safety in Rivers State, as shown in the judgment of the Supreme Court on the disputes between the Executive and the Legislative arm of Rivers State. It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.
“As a stakeholder in democratic governance, I believe that the need for a harmonious existence and relationship between the executive and the legislature is key to a successful government, whether at the state or national level. The people who voted us into power expect to reap the fruits of democracy. However, that expectation will remain unrealizable in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne of misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among the stakeholders.”
“I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, there is a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance. This is undoubtedly a welcome development for me and a remarkable achievement for us. I therefore do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I pronounced at the beginning of it.”
“It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare that the emergency in Rivers State of Nigeria shall end with effect from midnight today. The Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, the Deputy Governor, Her Excellency Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from 18 September 2025.”
President Tinubu concluded by reiterating his position and commitment, while reminding all the Governors and the Houses of Assembly of all the States of our country to continue to appreciate that it is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. I implore all of you to let this realization drive your actions at all times. I thank yo0u all. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
