Newsbreak: FG declares state of emergency in Rivers

By Omolade Adegbuyi

The Federal Government has declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.

The central authority cite prolonged political crisis, constitutional breaches, and rising insecurity.

President Bola Tinubu in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday evening, suspended the Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu.

All elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were also suspended. The suspension will last for an initial period of six months.

The President has also appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator, with immediate effect.

The President said the order was important to restore peace, order, and governance in Rivers.

The state has been in political troubled waters for months.

The Governor Fubara is at loggerheads with the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyeson Wike.

The President said all efforts at mediation, including his personal intervention and those of other well-meaning Nigerians, had failed to resolve the crisis.

Tinubu said “The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of Rivers unable to access the dividends of democracy,” Tinubu stated.

Some of the reasons cited by the President included demolition of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex in December 2023.

He said it was an unjustifiable act that crippled legislative governance.

“This is an extraordinary measure, but it is necessary to restore governance and prevent further breakdown of law and order in Rivers State,” Tinubu said.

Tinubu mentioned the February 28, 2025 Supreme Court judgment, which ruled that Rivers is no longer having a functioning government due to the collapse of its legislative arm.

The Supreme Court had ruled that the 27 lawmakers who left the PDP for the APC should be allowed to hold sway in the state parliament.