President Bola Tinubu has announced the end 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 return to office on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
Tinubu, in a statement released on Wednesday by the Presidency, said the state of emergency, first proclaimed on March 18, 2025, was necessary to arrest the “total paralysis of governance” that had gripped Rivers at the time.
“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,” he said.
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He recalled that a conflict between the governor and 27 lawmakers loyal to the House Speaker had left the state without a functioning government, with the Supreme Court even affirming in one of its rulings that “there was no government in Rivers 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,” Tinubu said.
President Tinubu explained that the intervention, which led to the suspension of the governor, deputy governor, and all members of the State House of Assembly, was fully supported by the National Assembly and was aimed at restoring peace and order in Rivers State.
Despite over 40 lawsuits being filed to challenge the declaration, Tinubu asserted that the action was constitutionally justified, stating that “it would have been a colossal failure on my part as president not to have made that proclamation.”
The president expressed satisfaction with what he described as a “groundswell of a new spirit of understanding” among political stakeholders in Rivers, adding that this development made it appropriate to end the state of emergency at the end of its initial six-month period.
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He stated, “I am happy today that, based on the intelligence available to me, there is a growing spirit of understanding, readiness, and enthusiasm among all stakeholders in Rivers State to return to democratic governance immediately.”
Tinubu called this a significant achievement and noted, “This is undoubtedly a welcome development, and I do not see why the state of emergency should continue a day longer than the six months I initially set.”
He further urged governors and state assemblies nationwide to focus on fostering harmony between the executive and legislative branches to ensure Nigerians benefit from the dividends of democracy.
Since the declaration of the state of emergency, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd) has been serving as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
Sunday Michael Ogwu is a Nigerian journalist and editor of Pinnacle Daily. He is known for his work in business and economic reporting. He has held editorial roles in prominent Nigerian media outlets, where he has focused on economic policy, financial markets, and developmental issues affecting Nigeria and Africa more broadly.
