President Bola Tinubu has officially brought to an end the six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, effective midnight, September 17, 2025. This declaration marks the cessation of one of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic’s most controversial federal interventions in state governance. The emergency rule, initially proclaimed on March 18, 2025, was a response to what President Tinubu described as a “total paralysis of governance” in Rivers State, stemming from a severe constitutional impasse between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly.

The President, in his broadcast, detailed the reasons behind his initial intervention, citing a crisis-ridden State House of Assembly where only four members supported the Governor, while 27 opposed him, backing the Speaker. This division prevented the Governor from presenting any Appropriation Bill, halting the state's financial operations. Furthermore, critical economic assets, particularly oil pipelines, were reportedly being vandalized. Tinubu emphasized that a Supreme Court judgment, in a series of cases filed by the executive and legislative arms, had even concluded that there was effectively no functional government in Rivers State. He asserted that his intervention, invoking Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, was a