•President Tinubu cautions Stakeholders against violence, political manipulation
By Sodiq Adelakun
The six-month state of emergency in Rivers State has formally ended as Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and Speaker Martins Amaewhule is set to resume their official duties today amid a renewed push for democratic governance.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, who declared the emergency in March 2025 following a total paralysis of governance in the state, announced its suspension in a statement on Wednesday.
He announced the suspension of the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, ordering Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and Speaker Martins Amaewhule to resume office from September 18, 2025.
This, the President said, follows intelligence indicating a “robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance.
The President said the emergency became inevitable after what he described as a “total paralysis of governance” in Rivers, which left the executive and legislative arms unable to cooperate.
Critical state assets, including oil pipelines, were being vandalised, while divisions within the House of Assembly created a constitutional impasse that brought governance to a standstill.
He said: “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,”
“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 17, 2025.”
The President commended the National Assembly for immediately approving the declaration after evaluating the justification, and thanked traditional rulers and the people of Rivers for their support throughout the emergency.
He acknowledged dissenting voices, noting that over 40 cases were filed in courts challenging the emergency rule, some of which remain pending.
“That is the way it should be in a democratic setting. Some cases are still pending in the courts as of today. But what needs to be said is that the power to declare a state of emergency is an inbuilt constitutional tool to address situations of actual or threatened breakdown of public order and public safety, which require extraordinary measures to return the state to peace, order and security,” Tinubu said.
He further warned that the fruits of democracy could only be realised in a climate of peace and order, cautioning against “violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne by misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among the stakeholders.”
Tinubu described the return to democratic governance as a “remarkable achievement for the country” and urged all officials to let this renewed spirit guide their actions.
