President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday, citing diverse reasons such as the political impasse in the state, the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgement and the wilful destruction of oil pipelines by militants allegedly sympathetic to the embattled governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara.
The president also announced a six months suspension of the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected legislators.
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The suspended officials were replaced by Ibokette Ibas, a retired vice admiral, who will serve as Rivers administrator for six months.
Mr Ibas will essentially govern the oil-rich state for the next six months but his policies have to be approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) led by Mr Tinubu.
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Tuesday’s declaration followed a protracted feud between Mr Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike who is now the Minister of Federal Capital Territory.
Tinubu’s justifications
The president, during the nationwide broadcast, said the situation in Rivers would hinder democracy and also strip the people of the state of the benefits of democratic government.
The feud between Messrs Wike and Fubara split legislators in the state with a majority pledging loyalty to Mr Wike, while others stood with Mr Fubara.
It got intense when some 27 lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while the four loyal to Mr Fubara got a court order which paved the way for them to control the state assembly.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Fubara in December 2023 demolished the Rivers State House of Assembly complex as the face-off between him and the pro-Wike lawmakers deepened. Although he gave a different reason for demolishing the building.
Mr Fubara, subsequently, presented the state’s 2024 budget proposal to the four-member assembly which had their sitting in the Rivers Government House.
Mr Tinubu referenced the demolition as one of the reasons that prompted him to declare the state of emergency. He lamented that 14 months after Mr Fubara demolished the complex, he had not rebuilt it.
“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 matter was also taken to the Supreme Court which ruled, on 28 February, against Mr Fubara and ordered him to acknowledge the 27 member loyal to Mr Wike as valid House of Assembly members and treat them as such. The court also ruled that proper democratic and constitutional governance be restored in Rivers. It also ordered the immediate submission of the state’s budgets to the House of Assembly controlled by the 27 lawamkers.
In his speech, President Tinubu cited the Supreme Court judgement and accused the Fubara-led government of failing to obey the court.
Militant activities
Mr Tinubu also blamed a recent attack on oil pipelines on Mr Fubara, saying some “militants” issued a threat “against their perceived enemy of the governor [Fubara] who has up till now NOT disowned them.”
The president cited the security breach in Rivers on Monday including the vandalisation of pipelines “without the governor taking any action to curtail them.”
“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.
READ ALSO: Ibok-Ete Ibas: Brief profile of man who’ll run Rivers’ affairs under emergency rule
“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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