…Fubara, Deputy, Lawmakers Resume September 18
President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, announced the termination 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 effective Thursday, September 18, 2025.
The President, in a statement from the Presidency, recalled that the emergency rule, first declared on March 18, 2025, became necessary to address what he described as the “total paralysis of governance” in the state at the time.
According to him, “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.”
Tinubu explained that the political crisis between Governor Fubara and 27 lawmakers loyal to the Speaker had left the state without a functioning government. The Supreme Court, in one of its rulings, also affirmed that “there was no government in Rivers State.”
He said the drift towards anarchy made it inevitable for him to invoke 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 17, 2025,” the President stated.
Tinubu noted that the action, backed by the National Assembly, was intended to restore peace and order in Rivers State. He further disclosed that more than 40 lawsuits were filed against the proclamation, but maintained that the intervention was constitutionally justified.
He said: “It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.”
Expressing satisfaction over the current political climate in the state, Tinubu said intelligence reports showed “a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm” among stakeholders for the 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,” he added.
The President, while urging governors and state assemblies nationwide to prioritise harmony between the executive and legislative arms, stressed that such cooperation was crucial for Nigerians to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.) has been administering the state as Sole Administrator since the emergency rule was declared.
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