President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing a prolonged political crisis that has crippled governance and threatened security in the oil-rich region.
In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, Tinubu said his administration had exhausted all avenues for peaceful resolution but was left with no choice as democratic institutions in the state had been systematically undermined.
“The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of Rivers unable to access the dividends of democracy,” the President said.
He accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of dismantling the state legislature by demolishing the House of Assembly complex in December 2023 and failing to rebuild it.
Tinubu also pointed to a recent Supreme Court ruling that faulted the governor’s actions, describing them as unconstitutional and detrimental to democratic governance.
He said, “Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern the development with the hope that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail at the earliest, but all that hope burned out without any solution to the crisis.
“With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state.”
The president stated that the crisis had persisted despite interventions.
He went on: “I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought and patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them. “
He referred to the Supreme Court judgement which faulted the governor’s actions.
“On February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of the rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it, pronounced in very clear terms: A government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended,” Tinubu quoted the court as saying.
The President expressed concern over security threats, including recent acts of pipeline vandalisation by militants in the state.
He criticised Governor Fubara for failing to take action against these threats and noted that certain militant groups had issued threats against individuals perceived as enemies of the governor.
“The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today, there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them,” Tinubu stated.
He assured Nigerians that he had ordered security agencies to take immediate measures to protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure in Rivers State.
Tinubu then announced the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months. In their place, he appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-ette Ibas athe state’s administrator for the period.
“The Administrator will not make new laws but will oversee governance in the interest of the good people of Rivers State,” Tinubu said, adding that the judicial arm would continue to function independently.
Citing the gravity of the situation, Tinubu explained that he had no choice but to invoke Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to declare a state of emergency.
He noted that neither the governor nor the deputy governor had requested federal intervention, as required by Section 305(5).
“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,” he declared.
“The emergency proclamation has been published in the Federal Gazette and forwarded to the National Assembly in line with constitutional provisions.
“Vice Admiral Ibok-ette Ibas (rtd) will assume control of the state’s administration but will not have the power to enact new laws. However, he will be permitted to formulate necessary regulations, subject to approval by the Federal Executive Council and promulgation by the President.”
Tinubu expressed hope that this measure would restore order in Rivers State and reaffirm constitutional governance.
Uneasy Calm In Rivers
There seems to be an uneasy calm in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital following President Bola Tinubu’s imposition of a six-month state-of-emergency rule on the state.
LEADERSHIP observed that within Old Port Harcourt Township, people were seen moving around as usual, as if they had not heard about the declaration.
However, our Correspondent sighted several military patrol vehicles with fully armed personnel moving into the Government House, Port Harcourt.
Several private vehicles, especially those of civil servants, were also seen hurriedly leaving the State Secretariat, which is also close to the Government House.
PDP Rejects Emergency Rule In Rivers State
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s imposition of a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying the president has no powers to suspend a democratically elected governor.
The PDP said it rejects the president’s attempt to override the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and undermine the votes and will of the people of Rivers State by seeking to depose a democratic government and foist an undemocratic rule in the state.
PDP national publicity secretary Debo Ologunagba said the unconstitutional declaration by President Tinubu of the suspension of the democratically elected Governor of Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and appointment of an unelected individual, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd) to govern the state, is an apparent attack on “our nation’s democracy, an abrogation of the votes and democratic right of the people of Rivers State to choose their leader under the Constitution.”
The party said the President’s action borders on an attempt at state capture and is the climax of a well-oiled plot to forcefully take over Rivers State, for which the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been bent on stoking the crisis to ensure that democracy is ultimately truncated in the state.”
The main opposition party insisted that the reasons adduced by the President cannot justify the declaration of a state of emergency in the State under the 1999 Constitution, “rendering the declaration completely incompetent.”
The PDP said the unwarranted imposition of emergency rule in Rivers State is part of the larger vicious plot to foist a siege mentality across Nigeria, decimate the opposition, impose a totalitarian one-party state and turn the country into a fiefdom.
“In any case, nothing in Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution relied upon by the President in the declaration grants him the exclusive powers to declare or execute the declaration of a state of emergency without recourse to the statutory approval of the National Assembly.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Section 305 (2) provides that “The President shall immediately after the publication, transmit copies of the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation containing the proclamation including the details of the emergency to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall forthwith convene or arrange for a meeting of the House of which he is President or Speaker, as the case may be, to consider the situation and decide whether or not to pass a resolution approving the proclamation”.
“Mr President should recognise that his order to an unelected individual to take over the government of Rivers State forthwith is illegal and a clear recipe for the crisis, a threat to the peace and stability of Rivers State and the entire nation.”
The PDP cautioned Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd) to respect the Constitution and ensure that he does not take any action or step that could derail smooth democratic governance in Rivers State.
“Nigeria is not under a military rule where the governance of a state is appointed by a junta,” it added.
You Spoilt Yar’Adua Hard-won Peace In Niger Delta, Atiku Tells Tinubu
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeked of political manipulation and outright bad faith.
He accused the President Bola Tinubu of being a vested, partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers, adding that his blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is disgraceful.
Atiku said it is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability.
He lamented that the situation has undone the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Atiku, in a statement on the emergency declaration, said, beyond the political scheming in Rivers, the brazen security breaches that led to the condemnable destruction of national infrastructure in the state land squarely on the President’s desk.
“Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent.
“It is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability — undoing the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Years of progress have been recklessly erased in pursuit of selfish political calculations.
“If federal infrastructure in Rivers has been compromised, the President bears full responsibility. Punishing the people of Rivers State just to serve the political gamesmanship between the governor and Tinubu’s enablers in the federal government is nothing less than an assault on democracy and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he said.
President’s Action Unwarranted, Should Be Rescinded – SAN
A senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has said that the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State and suspension of all elected officers by the President is totally unwarranted.
Adegboruwa said that the President should not have taken a decision because democracy is a learning process, and the judiciary had demonstrated the capability to resolve the issue.
He said, “The President should have allowed the various organs of state to resolve the issues.
“There is a crisis of local government administration in Osun State, and that has not led to a declaration of a state of emergency. The same thing in Benue State, where there is a problem between the executive and the judiciary. Even in Lagos State, where two speakers emerged.
“There is no basis for such declaration in a democratic the President should rescind his decision and allow the institutions of state to take care of disputes that may emerge in the course of democracy,” he said.
Adegboruwa said that the constitution empowers the President to declare a state of emergency, and once the declaration is made and endorsed by the National Assembly, nothing can be done about it.
The senior lawyer stated, “Once a state of emergency is declared, it automatically means that all elected officials are suspended because you cannot have two heads leading the state.”
State Of Emergency Was Expected- ACF’s Spokesman
The national publicity secretary of the northern apex socio-cultural organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum ( ACF), Prof. T.A Muhammad Baba, has said the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not unexpected.
Speaking in his personal capacity with LEADERSHIP in a telephone interview, ACF spokesman, Prof. T.A Muhammad Baba, said: “It is expected that the situation in Rivers can lead to this action taken by Mr President.
“I hope the declaration of a state of emergency will bring a lasting solution to the political crisis in Rivers state. We call on all political actors to come together and end this political crisis now as the state of emergency is in place.”
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