President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the end of the six month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, saying that democratic governance would fully resume in the oil-rich state from September 18
In a statement on Wednesday, the Presidency said the state of emergency which was proclaimed on March 18, 2025, was necessary to arrest the “total paralysis of governance” that had gripped Rivers at the time.
According to him, the state of emergency which lasted six months and expires at midnight of September 17, was necessary to arrest what he called “a drift towards anarchy” following the inability of the two arms of government to work together with the destruction of critical governemnt assets, including oil pipelines.
“I am happy to address you today on the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State. You will recall that on 18th March, 2025, I proclaimed a state of emergency in the state. In my proclamation address, I highlighted the reasons for the declaration.
The summary of it for context is that there was a total paralysis of governance in Rivers State, which had led to the Governor of Rivers State and the House of Assembly being unable to work together. Critical economic assets of the State, including oil pipelines, were being vandalised.”
He recalled that the intervention of the presidency and other well-meaning Nigerians to resolve the conflict proved abortive as both sides stuck rigidly to their positions to the detriment of peace and development of the State which therefore necessitated the declaration.
“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 President therefore declared that from the intelligence available to him, there is a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance, there is no reason why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months pronounced at the beginning.
“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.”
