President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing the political crisis, a recent Supreme Court ruling, and pipeline vandalism attributed to Governor Fubara’s supporters.
He suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the state legislature for six months, appointing retired Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas as administrator.
Ibas’s policies will require federal approval.
The declaration followed a prolonged conflict between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now FCT Minister.
Tinubu stated the situation threatened democracy and deprived Rivers citizens of its benefits.
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The Wike-Fubara feud divided state legislators, with 27 defecting to the APC and four remaining loyal to Fubara, who obtained a court order to control the assembly.
Fubara demolished the assembly complex in December 2023, escalating the conflict, and later presented the 2024 budget to the four-member assembly at the Government House.
Tinubu pointed to the unrebuilt complex as a key reason for the emergency declaration.
“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,” Mr Tinubu said, adding he was aware that many other Nigerians including patriotic leaders and groups tried their best to resolve the face-off.
The dispute was brought before the Supreme Court, which ruled against Governor Fubara on February 28th.
The court ordered him to recognize the 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike as legitimate members of the House of Assembly and to restore democratic governance in Rivers State.
The court also mandated the submission of the state’s budgets to the assembly controlled by these 27 lawmakers.
President Tinubu referenced this Supreme Court ruling, accusing Fubara’s government of non-compliance.
He also attributed a recent attack on oil pipelines to Fubara, citing threats from “militants” who the governor had allegedly not disowned.
Tinubu further pointed to a security breach on Monday, involving pipeline vandalism, which he claimed Fubara failed to address.
“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,” he said.
Mr Tinubu said he was compelled 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.”
“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,” he declared.
“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. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to 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 Nigeria as a whole.”
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