Rivers: Move to extend emergency rule collapses

Rivers: Move to extend emergency rule collapses

Suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, is set to resume office on September 18, 2025, following the collapse of moves to extend the six-month emergency rule in the state.

This development comes after a closed-door meeting last Wednesday between President Bola Tinubu and the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Sources disclosed that President Tinubu directed Ibas to prepare a comprehensive handover note detailing all funds inherited from Fubara, revenues accrued during the six-month emergency rule, expenditure breakdowns, and ongoing projects. The report is expected to be submitted before Ibas concludes his 10-day vacation.

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The directive effectively ended attempts by some lawmakers in the National Assembly to push for a three-month extension of Ibas’s tenure. Proponents of the extension had argued that additional time was needed to complete key projects, including the reconstruction of the demolished House of Assembly complex, a workers’ verification exercise, and the installation of sensitive government equipment.

However, the move met stiff opposition from Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, who insisted that the emergency rule must be lifted by September 18. Wike had earlier declared, during the August 30 local government elections, that both the governor and the state House of Assembly were prepared to return to office. His position was later echoed by Rivers APC chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, who described the September 18 date as “sacrosanct.”

President Tinubu is now expected to make a formal pronouncement lifting the emergency rule on September 18, exactly six months after it was imposed to calm political tensions between Wike and Fubara.

Rivers: Move to extend emergency rule collapses