President Bola Tinubu Wednesday announced the cessation of State of emergency in Rivers state.
Tinubu in a nationwide broadcast recalled that on 18th March, 2025, he proclaimed a state of emergency in the state.
He further recalled that in his proclamation address highlighted the reasons for the declaration, adding that in the summary of it for context was that there was a total paralysis of governance in Rivers State, which had led to the Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara and the House of Assembly being unable to work together.
The President noted that critical economic assets of the State, including oil pipelines, were being vandalised, while the State House of Assembly was crisis-ridden, such that members of the House were divided into two groups.
He explained that four members worked with the Governor, while 27 members opposed the Governor, whereas the latter group supported the Speaker.
Tinubu stressed that 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.
He said that serious constitutional impasse brought governance in the State to a standstill.
The President noted that 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.
He stated: “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.
“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.
“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.”
Tinubu noted that he was 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.
He added: “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.”
Tinubu stressed that as a stakeholder in democratic governance, he believed that the need for a harmonious existence and relationship between the executive and the legislature was key to a successful government, whether at the state or national level.
He said 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.
Tinubu said: “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.”