Abuja, September 17, 2025 — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially declared an end to the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, restoring the full functions of democratic governance to the oil-rich state. The announcement came in a detailed statement from the State House, Abuja, marking the conclusion of a tumultuous period of political crisis and constitutional suspension.
The state of emergency was proclaimed on March 18, 2025, after Rivers State descended into a severe constitutional impasse. A bitter power struggle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly split the legislature, leaving only four members aligned with the Governor while 27 members supported the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule. The division prevented the passage of an appropriation bill and brought governance to a halt. The crisis escalated to the point that, according to a Supreme Court judgment, Rivers State effectively had no functioning government. President Tinubu explained that numerous interventions, including mediation efforts by prominent Nigerians, failed to reconcile the warring factions.
Faced with what he described as a “drift towards anarchy,” President Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to impose the emergency rule. He suspended the offices of the Governor, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and the entire State House of Assembly for an initial six months. “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,” Tinubu noted in his statement. He emphasized that it would have been “a colossal failure” not to act when governance had completely collapsed.
The declaration faced resistance from some quarters, with over 40 legal suits filed in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa challenging the legality of the move. While some cases remain pending, the President maintained that the emergency proclamation was necessary to restore order and prevent further deterioration.
According to President Tinubu, recent intelligence reports indicate “a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm” among key stakeholders in Rivers State to resume democratic governance. This encouraging development, he said, made it unnecessary to extend the emergency beyond its original six-month duration.
Effective midnight of September 17, 2025, Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Odu, Speaker Amaewhule, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly will resume their official duties. Tinubu expressed gratitude to the National Assembly, traditional rulers, and the people of Rivers State for their patience and cooperation during the suspension period.
In a broader message to all state governments, President Tinubu underscored the importance of harmony between the executive and legislative branches to ensure the delivery of democratic dividends. “The people who voted us into power expect to reap the fruits of democracy,” he said. “That expectation will remain unrealizable in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne by misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among the stakeholders.”
With Rivers State now set to return to full democratic governance, attention will turn to how quickly the state’s leaders can resume the functions of government, address the economic disruptions caused by the impasse, and regain the trust of citizens. President Tinubu concluded his address with a reminder that “it is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people,” urging leaders nationwide to let this realization guide their actions.
