The proclamation, which began on March 18, 2025, will lapse at midnight, allowing Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule to resume their duties on Thursday, September 18.

Tinubu, in a statement from the Presidential Villa, said the “extraordinary measure” was necessary to halt a total breakdown of governance in the oil-rich state after a prolonged political crisis between the executive and legislature.

According to the statement, the rift left the governor without a functional Assembly to pass an appropriation bill and exposed vital economic assets, including oil pipelines, to vandalism.

He recalled that his intervention followed months of failed reconciliation efforts and a Supreme Court judgment, noting that Rivers State had effectively been without government.

Relying on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, Tinubu suspended the governor, his deputy and all elected lawmakers for six months, a move later ratified by the National Assembly.

The president acknowledged the more than 40 court cases filed to challenge the legality of the emergency rule but maintained that the step was needed to “arrest the drift towards anarchy” and restore public order.

He said latest intelligence reports indicated “a new spirit of understanding” among political actors, making further federal oversight unnecessary.

“I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, there is a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance. This is undoubtedly a welcome development for me and a remarkable achievement for us. I therefore do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I had pronounced at the beginning of it.

“It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare that the emergency in Rivers State of Nigeria shall end with effect from midnight today. The Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Her Excellency Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the speaker, Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from 18 September 2025,” the president said.

As the September 18 deadline approached, The ICIR reported that attention had shifted to Government House in Port Harcourt, where Fubara was expected to reclaim his mandate.

According to the report, signs of an imminent handover emerged when Fubara’s predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declared on August 30 that the emergency would expire on schedule.

The sole administrator appointed by Tinubu, Ibok-Ette Ibas, a retired vice admiral, who has led the state since March, had prepared his exit with an interdenominational thanksgiving service held on Sunday, September 14.

Ibas took charge after Tinubu suspended the entire elected leadership, citing insecurity and a breakdown of governance amid a bitter feud between Fubara and 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike.

His six-month administration began with the removal of political appointees, appointment of caretakers of local government areas (LGAs), and the conduct of LGA elections in which Wike’s allies swept the polls, effectively shutting out Fubara’s supporters.

Ibas has defended his stewardship, pointing to the ‘peaceful’ LGA elections, the rehabilitation of the Diete-Spiff Secretariat, revival of the Songhai Farm, and an alleged N5 billion saved from a civil service verification exercise.

Meanwhile, in his statement on Wednesday, Tinubu urged governors and lawmakers nationwide to learn from the Rivers crisis, warning that only cooperation between the executive and legislative arms could guarantee the dividends of democracy.