Tinubu reinstates Fubara

Siminalayi Fubara will today resume duties as Governor of Rivers State, following the end of the six-month emergency rule imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu.

The President, on Wednesday, announced an end to the emergency rule he declared in Rivers State on March 18, 2025.

In a statement on the cessation of the emergency rule, made available by the Presidency, the President said, “The Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Her Excellency Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the speaker, Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from September 18, 2025…

“It, therefore, gives me great pleasure to declare that the emergency in Rivers State of Nigeria shall end with effect from midnight today.”

He added, “I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, there is a groundswell of 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 is undoubtedly a welcome development for me and a remarkable achievement for us. 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.”

To restore democracy, which he suspended by appointing Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator, the President asked all elected officials to resume their offices effective from midnight of September 18.

He added, “I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, there is a groundswell of 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 is undoubtedly a welcome development for me and a remarkable achievement for us. 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.”

To restore democracy, which he suspended by appointing Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator, the President asked all elected officials to resume their offices effective from midnight of September 18.

The political crisis in Rivers State has been one of Nigeria’s fiercest power struggles in recent years, rooted in a battle between Fubara and his predecessor-turned-political godfather, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

When Fubara emerged as governor in May 2023, he was widely seen as Wike’s protégé. The relationship, however, turned sour over control of political structures, state resources, and loyalty ahead of the 2027 elections.

By late 2023, the crisis escalated as the state House of Assembly split, with the majority siding with Wike, while a minority remained loyal to Fubara.

Moves to impeach the governor triggered street protests, legal battles, and even violence as the Assembly building was set ablaze during the height of tensions, symbolising the depth of the political breakdown.

President Tinubu brokered a peace deal in December 2023, compelling Fubara to recognise the Amaewhule-led lawmakers who had declared their defection to the All Progressives Congress. The Abuja controversial agreement was criticised by many gladiators, describing it as unconstitutional.

Despite the truce, parallel legislative sessions, disputed budgets, and allegations of intimidation persisted. Both camps entrenched themselves further, drawing in national political forces and destabilising governance in the oil-rich state.

The height of the tensions was the February 28, 2025, judgment of the Supreme Court, which recognised the Amaewhule-led Assembly as the authentic in the state.

Hitherto, Fubara had recognised and given validity to the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led assembly.

The apex court also ordered the embattled governor to re-present the 2024 budget, while halting the release of funds by the Federal Government to the state.

It also declared the controversial local government election conducted by Fubara on October 5, 2024, as invalid and sacked the elected council chairmen.

The battle line was then drawn between Fubara and the Amaewhule-led Assembly, leading to heightened tension in the state.

The assembly, playing hide-and-seek, asked the governor to present the 2024 budget, even after the 2025 budget had been passed by the Oko-Jumbo three-man faction, though attempts by the governor to meet with the members failed.

As the tempers rose, locals and ex-agitators threatened to tamper with oil installations should Fubara be impeached, as threatened by the Amaewhule-led assembly in a notice sent to the governor.

A day before Tinubu imposed emergency rule, an explosion rocked a section of the Trans Niger Pipeline in the Bodo Community of Gonna Local Government Area in Rivers State. The following day, another explosion severed a pipeline manifold in the Omwawriwa axis of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of the State.

The President expressed concern over vandalism by militants, allegedly acting in support of Fubara. The attacks occurred amid desperate efforts by the Tinubu administration to increase Nigeria’s lagging crude oil output and curb leaks.

To forestall a breakdown of law and order and protect vital oil installations essential to uninterrupted production and the economy, President Tinubu, on March 18, 2025, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended all democratic institutions.

The declaration was faulted by civil society groups, opposition political parties, Rivers indigenes, especially women, but the President justified his intervention, saying he was constitutionally empowered to  intervene to prevent breakdown of law and order.

In his Wednesday statement, Tinubu said, “You will recall that on March 18, 2025, I proclaimed a state of emergency in the State. 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.”

He cited vandalism of “critical economic assets of the State, including oil pipelines,” and a split legislature in which “four members worked with the Governor, while 27 members opposed the Governor…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.”

Tinubu said attempts by himself and “other well-meaning Nigerians” to broker peace failed, prompting him “to invoke the powers conferred on me by Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to proclaim the state of emergency.”

He noted that “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 17, 2025.”

Thanking lawmakers for approving the proclamation, Tinubu added: “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.”

He acknowledged some legal challenges, saying, “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…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.”

Referencing court proceedings, the President said, “Considering 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.”

Tinubu urged cooperation between branches of government, advising, “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.

“However, that expectation will remain unrealisable in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne by misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among the stakeholders.”

The President acknowledged that the conditions had improved after reconciliation between rival factions, which he described as “a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding.”

“I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, there is a groundswell of 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.

“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.

“I take this opportunity to remind the Governors and the Houses of Assembly of all the States of our country to continue to appreciate that it is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. I implore all of you to let this realisation drive your actions at all times.”

Winners

President Tinubu emerges as the ultimate winner. Justifying his intervention in a statement on Wednesday, the President declared: “It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.”

For an administration striving to revive the economy from a comatose state, Tinubu was unwilling to risk anything that could cripple its mainstay—oil. His greatest concern was that critical national assets in Rivers, particularly oil pipelines, had come under repeated vandalism amid the heightened political tension.

The emergency declaration not only quelled the unrest but also brought swift restoration of order. Within days, the vandalised pipelines were repaired and reactivated, averting what could have become a deeper economic crisis.

Beyond economic stability, the President also gained significant political ground in Rivers, a state previously dominated by the opposition. Before the emergency declaration, the Peoples Democratic Party held sway in the state. But as the crisis deepened, some loyalists of the governor defected to the All People’s Party ahead of the October 5, 2024, local government election, which they won.

The rescheduled poll, conducted by the state’s sole administrator on August 30, 2025, further cemented APC’s foothold, as its candidates emerged victorious in 20 out of 23 local government areas.

The outcome not only marked the APC’s long-sought grassroots penetration in Rivers but also positioned the party strongly ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Another clear winner is the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. Since December 2023, the minister had been locked in a fierce struggle to reclaim political control of Rivers. His loyalists had lost out in key positions—commissioners, local government chairmen, and other strategic offices—leaving him politically stranded.

The Supreme Court judgment that restored the Amaewhule-led Assembly gave Wike fresh leverage to tighten his grip on Governor Fubara. Determined to unseat him, Wike pressed hard until President Tinubu’s emergency rule intervened, halting the showdown. In one of his interviews, Wike even admitted that the President’s intervention had spared Fubara from the “sledgehammer.”

During the political lull that followed, the President reconciled the two rivals for a second time. Since then, Wike has bounced back to political relevance, successfully repositioning his loyalists in local government offices across the state.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, on Wednesday, the FCT minister said the President’s intervention had further restored the confidence of the people of Rivers State in his leadership.

He commended the people of the state for their belief in the President and continuous support for him in his tireless efforts to return the country to the path of progress and development.