President Bola Tinubu has announced the suspension of the six month emergency rule imposed in Rivers State.
With the suspension Siminalayi Fubara and Ngozi Odu will be reinstated as the governor and deputy governor of the state, respectively.
This development was made known via a statement issued by the president on Wednesday.
President Tinubu also announced that all suspended House of Assembly members in the state would return to their duties.
The President said the emergency, proclaimed on March 18, 2025, had become necessary after a total breakdown of governance crippled the state.
He cited deep divisions between the governor and the majority of lawmakers, vandalism of oil pipelines, and a constitutional stalemate that the Supreme Court itself described as leaving “no government in Rivers State.”
Tinubu explained that invoking Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution was “painfully inevitable” to arrest the drift toward anarchy, adding that suspending elected officials was the only way to restore order. The National Assembly ratified the proclamation, while over 40 court cases were filed to challenge it.
“Today, there is a new spirit of understanding, readiness, and enthusiasm among stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance,” the President said. “I therefore do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I pronounced.”
He thanked Rivers residents, traditional rulers, and the National Assembly for their support during the emergency, and urged political leaders nationwide to put peace and good governance above personal rivalries.
“I implore all governors and lawmakers to remember that it is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people,” he said.
The emergency officially ends at midnight on September 17, 2025
