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President Bola Tinubu has officially declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, as the lingering political turmoil continues to threaten governance and stability in the region. The decision comes after weeks of failed interventions and mounting tension among political factions.
President Bola Tinubu went on national airwaves Tuesday, March 18, 2025, announcing a six-month suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the full House of Assembly—a major shake-up aimed at tackling the state’s spiraling unrest.
To keep things running, Tinubu tapped Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas, a retired naval officer, to step in as administrator for the next six months, handing him the task of steadying the ship in Rivers during this turbulent stretch.
He leaned on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution for the move, a rule that lets the president hit pause on normal governance when a state faces serious threats—think national crises, disasters, or terrorism—to get things back under control.
That clause gives Tinubu broad power to issue orders ensuring safety and order, and he’s using it here to take charge of a situation that’s clearly gotten out of hand.
It’s not the first time Nigeria’s seen this: back on May 14, 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan rolled out a full emergency in the northeast—Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa—battling insurgents, while a smaller one hit parts of Yobe, Borno, Plateau, and Niger on December 31, 2011, even shutting down some border crossings for a bit.
For about two months, there seemed to be no end in sight in the protracted feud and power tussle between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike; and his estranged ex-political godson Fubara over the control of the political structure in the oil-rich Rivers State.
Read also: Rivers: ‘Just Obey Rule Of Law’ – Tinubu Tells Gov Fubara, PANDEF
Pipelines have reportedly exploded in the state as the political tension heightened, with civil servants threatening mass protests against the Martins Amaewhule group in the House of Assembly loyal to Wike.
Tinubu said, “The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
“With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
“In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
“By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
“In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
“The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
“This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution.
The president further expressed his fervent hope that the inevitable intervention would help restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular, and in Nigeria as a whole.
