President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his deputy to resume office from tomorrow, saying he sees no reason for the state of emergency to continue a day longer.
On March 18, after a meeting with Service Chiefs at the Presidential Villa, President Tinubu declared a six-month state of emergency in Rivers State following heightened political tension in the oil-rich state.
In a statement personally signed, the President said he was encouraged by new developments that pointed to reconciliation and readiness among stakeholders in Rivers State to return to democratic governance.
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“There is a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance,” Tinubu stated.
“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.”
Tinubu announced that the emergency rule would end at midnight today, clearing the way for Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule to resume duties from September 18, 2025.
The President urged state governors and lawmakers across the country to remember that peace, order, and good governance are essential to delivering democratic dividends to Nigerians.
Recalling the circumstances that led to the proclamation, Tinubu said governance in Rivers State had been paralyzed as the governor and the House of Assembly failed to work together, while critical assets such as oil pipelines were being vandalized.
He noted that the Assembly was deeply divided, with only four members supporting the governor and 27 backing the Speaker, a situation that prevented the presentation of the Appropriation Bill and stalled the running of government.
“The serious constitutional impasse brought governance in the state to a standstill. Even the Supreme Court, in one of its judgments, held that there was no government in Rivers State,” Tinubu said.
The President explained that his intervention, alongside efforts by other well-meaning Nigerians, failed to resolve the crisis, forcing him to invoke Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to declare the emergency. The offices of the governor, deputy governor, and elected lawmakers were suspended for six months, which expires today, September 17, 2025.
While acknowledging dissenting voices and over 40 court cases filed to challenge the proclamation, Tinubu said such actions reflected the democratic process.
He maintained that declaring a state of emergency was a constitutional tool to restore peace and order, stressing that Rivers State had reached a point of near-total breakdown before the intervention.
“It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation,” he said.
