JUST IN! Tinubu Ends Emergency Rule In Rivers, Fubara, Amaewhule To Resume Thursday

 

President Bola Tinubu has announced the suspension of emergency rule in Rivers State, which began six months ago.

Tinubu, who announced this in a statement he signed on Wednesday, explained that from the intelligence available to him, there was a new spirit of understanding, “a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance”.

This, he said, was undoubtedly a welcome development for him and a remarkable achievement for the country.

“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.

“It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare that the emergency in Rivers State of Nigeria shall end with effect from midnight today. The Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and the speaker, Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from 18 September 2025,” said Tinubu.

He recalled that the state of emergency in Rivers became inevitable following what he described as a “total paralysis of governance” in Rivers that left the governor and the House of Assembly unable to work together.

The President said the crisis also affected critical economic assets of the state, including oil pipelines, which were being vandalised.

He stated that his intervention and that of other well-meaning Nigerians to resolve the conflict proved abortive as both sides stuck to their guns to the detriment of peace and development of Rivers State.

“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 President commended the National Assembly for taking steps immediately, as required by the Constitution, to approve the declaration in the interest of peace and order in Rivers State, after critically evaluating the justification for the proclamation.

He also thanked traditional rulers and the people of Rivers for their support from the date of the declaration of the state of emergency until it ended.