President Bola Tinubu has lifted the six-month emergency rule imposed on Rivers State, reinstating Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the State House of Assembly. The suspension takes effect from midnight, September 17, 2025.
“It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare that the emergency in Rivers State of Nigeria shall end with effect from midnight today,” the statement reads,” the President said in a statement.
How we got here
Rivers State slipped into chaos earlier this year when a bitter feud between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, split the state assembly. With most lawmakers loyal to Wike, budgets were blocked and governance stalled.
As the standoff deepened, Pipeline vandalism and a Supreme Court warning of a “constitutional impasse” set the stage for Tinubu’s controversial move to suspend all elected officials and install a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas.
The compromise
By July, Governor Fubara reportedly made key concessions to Wike’s camp in an attempt to lower the temperature. He allegedly ceded control of the state assembly to lawmakers loyal to Wike.
Also, he was said to have given up control of all the local government councils. As a result, the newly elected local government chairmen are all loyal to Wike. Those moves restored a measure of calm but raised questions about whether he was governing on his own terms or under Wike’s shadow.
The presidency says recent intelligence pointed to a “new spirit of understanding” among Rivers’ rival blocs. With lawsuits mounting and political hostilities cooling, Tinubu declared the emergency rule no longer necessary.
What now?
On paper, Fubara is back as governor. But with a house and local councils dominated by Wike’s loyalists, the bigger question remains: how much power does Fubara really wield?
For Rivers residents, the real test is whether this uneasy balance can deliver governance or whether the state will slip again into a cycle of power plays at the expense of the people.
