The President, in a statement, said his decision to lift the
state of emergency was predicated on the fact that peace has returned to the
state.

He explained that as of March 18, when he declared the state
of emergency in the state, there was a total collapse of governance and the
fragmentation of the state House of Assembly.

He said that his intervention, along with that of other
well-meaning Nigerians, to resolve the conflict proved abortive, as both sides
remained rigidly entrenched in their positions, to the detriment of peace and
the development of the state.

President Tinubu, however, stated that, based on the
intelligence available to him, there is a groundswell of a new spirit of
understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm among all stakeholders
in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance.

Consequently, he said he did not see why the state of
emergency should exist a day longer than the six months he had 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.

“I take this opportunity to remind 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 realisation drive your actions at all times,” he said.

The President’s statement partly read: “My Fellow countrymen
and, in particular, the good people of Rivers State.

“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 of it 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, such that
members of the House were 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, thereby preventing him from accessing 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, along with that of other well-meaning Nigerians, to resolve the
conflict proved abortive, as both sides remained rigidly entrenched in their
positions, to the detriment of peace and the state’s development.

“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 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.”

Continuing, he said: “I thank 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. I 
also thank our 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.”

On the opposition to the declaration of emergency rule in
the state, which had condemnation from some quarters, Tinubu said: “I am not
unaware 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 by 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 had pronounced at the beginning
of it.”