Tinubu Ends Emergency Rule in Rivers, Fubara to Resume as Governor

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday announced an end to emergency rule in Rivers State, restoring the suspended Governor of the state, Mr Sim Fubara.

In a statement issued barely 24 hours after returning from a to-week vacation from Europe, the President said “my intervention and that of 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.”

He said “it would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.”

The President said he was aware of “over 40 cases in the courts in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa, to invalidate the declaration,” saying it is the beauty of democracy.

Recall that on March 18, 2025, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Rivers State and suspended Mr Fubara for six months.

On Thursday, September 18, 2025, the elected Governor will resume office after the Sole Administrator appointed by Mr Tinubu, Mr Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, hands over the reign of power to him.

Mr Fubara got into trouble after disagreeing with his political godfather and predecessor, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is currently in the cabinet of Mr Tinubu as the Minister of the FCT. Attempts to later resolve the matter failed, with the Governor almost impeached by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Below is the full speech of President Tinubu on the restoration of democracy to the state;

STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BOLA AHMED TINUBU, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, ON THE CESSATION OF THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE

My Fellow countrymen and, in particular, the good people of Rivers State.

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. The State House of Assembly was crisis-ridden, such that members of the House were divided into two groups. Four members worked with the Governor, while 27 members opposed the Governor. The latter group supported the Speaker. As a result, the Governor could not present any Appropriation Bill to the House, to enable him to access funds to run Rivers State’s affairs. 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. My intervention and that of 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.

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.

I thank the National Assembly, which, after critically evaluating the justification for the proclamation, took steps immediately, as required by the Constitution, to approve the declaration in the interest of peace and order in Rivers State. I  also thank our traditional rulers and the good people of Rivers State for their support from the date of the declaration of the state of emergency until now.

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. 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. Considered objectively, we had reached that situation of total breakdown of public order and public safety in Rivers State, as shown in the judgment of the Supreme Court on the disputes between the Executive and the Legislative arm of Rivers State. It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.

As a stakeholder in democratic governance, I believe that the need for a harmonious existence and relationship between the executive and the legislature is key to a successful government, whether at the state or national level. The people who voted us into power expect to reap the fruits of democracy. However, that expectation will remain unrealizable in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne by misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among the stakeholders.