President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally lifted the state of emergency in Rivers State, six months after its proclamation, declaring that democratic governance will resume in the oil-rich state from September 18, 2025.

 In a national address on Tuesday, the President said the extraordinary measure taken on March 18, 2025, was necessary to halt what he described as a “total paralysis of governance” that had engulfed the state following a bitter standoff between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Tinubu explained that the breakdown in relations between the executive and legislature, vandalism of key economic assets, and multiple court battles created a constitutional crisis that left Rivers without effective governance. “Even the Supreme Court, in its judgment, held that there was no government in Rivers State,” the President recalled. “It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to act.” The emergency, which suspended the Governor, Deputy Governor, and 31 members of the State House of Assembly, was endorsed by the National Assembly. Tinubu thanked lawmakers, traditional rulers, and the people of Rivers for their support during the intervention. He acknowledged dissenting voices and ongoing litigations but stressed that the constitutional tool of emergency rule was invoked to safeguard peace and restore order. With reports of a “new spirit of understanding and readiness” among stakeholders, Tinubu said he was confident that normal governance could resume. “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,” he stated. 

Effective midnight, September 17, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and Speaker Martins Amaewhule alongside members of the Rivers State House of Assembly will return to office.

The President urged political leaders across Nigeria to prioritise harmony between the executive and legislature, warning that the dividends of democracy can only be delivered in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good governance.