General
Tinubu Declares State of Emergency in Rivers, Suspends Fubara, Assembly
By Dipo Olowookere
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night suspended the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, and the Rivers State House of Assembly, effectively declaring a state of emergency on the state.
In a broadcast today, Mr Tinubu said he took this decision as a result of recent developments in the state.
Mr Fubara has been at loggerheads with his predecessor, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is currently the Minister of FCT, over the control of the state, particularly the state parliament.
The action of the President came barely 24 hours after a pipeline was blown in Rivers State, with two suspects arrested by the police.
He has appointed Mr Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of affairs of Rivers State.
Below is the full text of President Tinubu’s broadcast;
Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern the development with the hope that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail at the soonest, but all that hope burned out without any solution to the crisis.
With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state.
The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same.
I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis.
I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms: “a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected “are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members.”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated. Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State.
For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution.
It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for the submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation to Friday, August 21, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. West Africa Time.
In a statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, the group said the extension was intended to ensure that interested individuals, institutions and organisations have adequate opportunity to make substantive contributions to the proposed legislation.
“The Presidential Working Group is committed to ensuring that the process of developing the National Policing Bill benefits from broad consultation and the informed perspectives of Nigerians and relevant stakeholders,” the statement read.
The proposed legislation is intended to provide the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework necessary for an effective policing architecture that responds to Nigeria’s evolving security needs, while providing appropriate safeguards for accountability, professionalism and the protection of citizens’ rights.
“Given the significance of the proposed reform to the future of policing and internal security in Nigeria, the Working Group considers it important that stakeholders are afforded more opportunity to make substantive and technically sound contributions to the process,” the statement said.
The former lawmaker said legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and interested members of the public are encouraged to take advantage of the extended window to submit their memoranda and position papers, exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, on or before the new deadline.
According to him, developing an effective policing framework required careful consideration of a number of critical issues, including sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms and safeguards against political interference or abuse.
“These considerations underscore the importance of robust stakeholder engagement in developing a framework that is effective, accountable, sustainable and responsive to the peculiar security needs of communities across the federation,” he added.
He noted that at the conclusion of its assignment, the Presidential Working Group will present a final, implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for onward legislative processing.
The Presidential Working Group appreciated stakeholders who had already made submissions and encouraged others intending to participate in the process to take advantage of the extension.
The National Policing Bill portal went live on August 3, 2026, when Gbajabiamila first announced the public consultation window during a press briefing on the reform, at the time indicating that submissions would close after roughly two weeks.
The Working Group is expected to present the completed Executive Bill package to President Bola Tinubu for review on September 3, 2026.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says the prevailing insecurity in parts of the country is negatively affecting its operations and revenue generation.
The Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs and Zonal Coordinator, Zone B, Mrs Nsikak Umoh, disclosed this in Minna while inspecting the Niger/Kogi Area Command Headquarters and engaging with vehicle importers on the operational challenges confronting the command.
Mrs Umoh said insecurity was not peculiar to the Niger/Kogi Area Command, but affected several Customs formations across the North-West, including Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara states.
“The security challenge is not peculiar to only Niger/Kogi Area Command. The whole of North-West comprising Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara States, which are all under my command, are facing the same security challenge,” she said.
According to her, the security situation had exposed customs personnel to increasing threats, with some officers killed or injured in the course of performing their duties, adding that the development had forced some commands to scale down their operations or adopt more cautious approaches, thereby affecting revenue collection.
Mrs Umoh explained that the service was encouraging its officers to adopt intelligence-led operations to minimise risks while ensuring that legitimate Customs duties continued.
“But we are trying our best to encourage them to use an intelligence-based operating system to do their job, and that is why in most of the commands, we have a reduction in revenue collections,” she added.
The ACG also expressed concern over the impact of insecurity on the physical and psychological wellbeing of Customs personnel, noting that some officers had developed health complications, including hypertension, due to fear and stress associated with their duties.
Despite the security challenges, Umoh said the Niger/Kogi Area Command had continued to perform strongly in revenue generation, disclosing that the command had surpassed its monthly revenue target of N17 million, generating more than N200 million as of August 12.
She commended the officers and stakeholders in the command for sustaining revenue collection despite the difficult operating environment.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered more than N115 billion in statutory levies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by defaulting oil companies between 2021 and 2023.
The recovery comprises N76.883 billion and $81.076 million, according to an EFCC representative, Mr Francis Oka-Phillips Usani, who disclosed the figures before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday.
Mr Usani spoke while the committee was investigating the 2021–2023 Oil and Gas Sector Audit Report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
He said the EFCC investigated 43 oil companies over outstanding three per cent statutory levies payable to the NDDC.
According to him, 24 of the companies operating in the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655, while the remaining 19 companies were cleared of any outstanding liability.
“At the commencement of the investigation, EFCC invited 43 oil companies, out of which 24 operating within the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities in the sums of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655.00, while the remaining 19 other oil companies were given a clean bill of health,” Mr Usani said.
The agent explained that following the investigation and pressure mounted by the commission, some of the affected companies paid their outstanding liabilities directly to the NDDC.
He said the direct payments amounted to N6.709 billion and $16.994 million.
Mr Usani further disclosed that of the funds recovered by the EFCC on behalf of the NDDC, N73.373 billion and $67.070 million had so far been released to the commission, noting that the balance of N3.510 billion and $14.005 million remained in the EFCC’s recovery account.
He, however, stated that the commission was also mindful of other possible outstanding statutory obligations and taxes payable to the federal government.
