President Bola Tinubu has announced the end of the six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, declaring that democratic governance will resume fully from Wednesday, September 18, 2025.
Tinubu made the announcement in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, citing improved understanding and willingness among political actors in the state to work together after months of paralysis.
The president had declared the emergency on March 18, 2025, following a bitter standoff between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly that left governance at a standstill. At the height of the crisis, 27 lawmakers opposed to the governor clashed with four pro-Fubara legislators, preventing the passage of the state’s budget and triggering a wave of political and security instability.
Tinubu said the declaration became inevitable after interventions failed and even the Supreme Court ruled that “there was no government in Rivers State” due to the deadlock. The proclamation, backed by the National Assembly, suspended the offices of the governor, deputy governor, and all lawmakers for six months.
“The power to declare a state of emergency is a constitutional tool to address situations of actual or threatened breakdown of public order and public safety,” Tinubu explained. “It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have acted.”
However, the president said recent intelligence suggested that stakeholders in Rivers had embraced dialogue and were ready to return to normal democratic order.
“With effect from midnight today, the emergency in Rivers State shall end,” Tinubu declared. “The Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, the Deputy Governor, Her Excellency Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from September 18, 2025.”
Tinubu thanked the National Assembly, traditional rulers, and the people of Rivers State for their support during the intervention, while urging political leaders nationwide to avoid needless conflicts that jeopardize governance.
“It is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people,” the president said.