KEY FACT:
- President Bola Tinubu has officially lifted the state of emergency in Rivers State.
- The emergency was declared in 2023 due to violence, insecurity, and disruption of oil production.
- With the end of the emergency, military and other security forces deployed under it will begin to withdraw.
- Tinubu says the situation is now stable enough for normal civic administration to resume.
- He called for peace, urging citizens and political actors to work together for peace and development.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially lifted the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, reinstating Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the suspended House of Assembly. The move marks the end of a period during which the federal government administered the state through a retired Vice Admiral.
The emergency rule, declared in March 2025, was triggered by escalating political instability that included allegations of legislative obstructions, threats to governance, and pipeline vandalism in the state’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.
Under Section 305 of Nigeria’s Constitution, the state of emergency empowered the federal executive to suspend the governor and deputy, dissolve the state legislature, and appoint an administrator — Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retired) — to oversee state affairs. The judiciary, however, remained unaffected.
The reversal follows legal and political pressures, including contention from opposition stakeholders who challenged the emergency proclamation as unconstitutional and excessive. Observers say the reinstatement reflects efforts to restore democratic order and quell mounting criticism over Tinubu’s exercise of extraordinary powers.
