Nigerian Leader Suspends Emergency Rule in River State

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the state of emergency declared in Rivers State, effective from midnight on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President directed Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, to resume their offices from September 18.

President Tinubu said the decision followed a renewed spirit of unity and commitment by stakeholders in the state to restore democratic governance.

He said; “I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, 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. 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.”

The President noted that peace, order, and effective leadership remain the foundation for delivering good governance and urged the executive and legislative arms of Rivers State to prioritise harmony in their dealings.

“I take this opportunity to remind the Governors and the Houses of Assembly of all the States of our country to continue to appreciate that it is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. I implore all of you to let this realisation drive your actions at all times,” he explained.

President Tinubu recalled that he proclaimed the emergency on March 18, 2025, after a constitutional deadlock paralysed governance in Rivers State, with the House of Assembly split between two factions, vandalism of oil pipelines, and a Supreme Court ruling that held there was “no government in Rivers State.”

“That serious constitutional impasse brought governance in the State to a standstill. Even the Supreme Court, in one of its judgments in a series of cases filed by the Executive and the Legislative arms of Rivers State against each other, held that there was no government in Rivers State,” he stated.

President Tinubu explained that his intervention, backed by the National Assembly, was necessary to prevent the state from descending into anarchy, stressing that his constitutional authority under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution justified 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 six months expire today, September 17th, 2025,” he explained.

The President acknowledged dissenting voices against the proclamation but said such debates are part of democratic governance.

“I am not unaware that there were a few voices of dissent against the proclamation, which led to their instituting over 40 cases in the courts in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa, to invalidate the declaration. That is the way it should be in a democratic setting. Some cases are still pending in the courts as of today,” he said.

President Tinubu thanked the National Assembly for promptly approving the emergency declaration and expressed appreciation to traditional rulers and the people of Rivers State for their support throughout the six-month period.