President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the end of the state of emergency in Rivers State, restoring full democratic governance six months after suspending the state’s political leadership due to a constitutional crisis.
In a national broadcast from the State House, Tinubu declared that the emergency rule, declared on March 18, 2025, would lapse at midnight today, allowing Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and Speaker Martins Amaewhule to resume duties from September 18.
“There is now a groundswell of understanding and readiness among stakeholders for democratic governance,” Tinubu said.
The President had invoked emergency powers under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution after a prolonged political standoff between the executive and legislative arms in Rivers State rendered governance non-functional.
Only four lawmakers aligned with the governor, while 27 others backed a rival Speaker, leading to the legislature’s breakdown and the state’s inability to pass an appropriation bill.
This impasse, worsened by vandalism of oil infrastructure and legal wrangling, culminated in the Supreme Court declaring that Rivers State had “no functioning government.”
Despite multiple intervention efforts, Tinubu said both factions remained intransigent, forcing his hand to suspend all elected officials and install emergency governance mechanisms.
With the six-month period now expired, Tinubu said intelligence reports suggest that stakeholders in the state are now committed to peaceful governance.
“I do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer,” the President declared.
He thanked the National Assembly for approving the emergency declaration, and acknowledged dissenting voices and over 40 legal challenges to the proclamation as “part of a healthy democracy.”
Tinubu used the occasion to caution all state governors and Houses of Assembly nationwide, stressing the need for cooperation between arms of government.
“Only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good governance can we deliver the dividends of democracy,” he said.
This marked the end of Nigeria’s most high-profile constitutional emergency in recent years and a critical test of the presidency’s crisis-management authority.
