Tinubu Declares State of Emergency In Rivers, Suspends Governor Fubara, Deputy, Assembly

All elected public officials of the River State government have been suspended by President Bola Tinubu, who has announced a state of emergency in the state.

In a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, Tinubu declared.

Additionally, Tinubu imposed a six-month suspension on all members of the state House of Assembly, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu.

He said, “The governor of Rivers State demolished the House of Assembly but has failed to rebuild the building till date

“Many Nigerians have intervened and leaders of thought have intervened all to no avail.

“The Supreme Court pronounced in very glaring terms that a government cannot run without an arm of government.

“The latest security report shows that there has been vandalism of oil pipelines in Rivers State and the governor has not taken any step.

“Based on Section 305 of the constitution of the country, 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 said in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday.”

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The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the defection of 27 lawmakers from the Rivers State House of Assembly and the seizure of the state’s monthly statutory allocation drew harsh criticism from the PDP in Rivers State earlier on Tuesday.

The party accused the Supreme Court of being biassed and awarding relief on cases that were not brought before it in a statement released Tuesday in Port Harcourt by its Acting Chairman in Rivers State, Hon. Nname Robinson Ewor, following the conclusion of the party’s State Working Committee meeting.

The controversy followed the Supreme Court’s ruling on February 28, 2025, which addressed the presentation of the 2024 Appropriation Bill by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

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However, the PDP claimed that the court went further to make determinations on issues the litigants did not initiate and commenced action on including the membership status of the 27 lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as the withholding of Rivers State’s monthly allocation.

Background

A severe political divide between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is the root cause of the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Even though Wike was crucial in ensuring Fubara’s election victory on the PDP platform, the dispute started soon after he assumed office in May 2023.

Political Fallout

When Fubara started to exert his independence from Wike’s political influence and consolidate his authority, tensions between the two parties arose. Wike was apparently incensed by this as he had anticipated continuing to have substantial influence over the state’s political system even after he left government.

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Defection of 27 Lawmakers

When 27 Wike-aligned legislators in the Rivers State House of Assembly switched from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2023, the battle intensified.

The lawmakers’ grounds for defecting were internal party strife and a decline in trust in the PDP leadership. Fubara’s capacity to govern successfully was threatened by their departure, which left him with little parliamentary backing.

Attempted Impeachment and Political Tensions

The legislature, which was predominately composed of members who supported Wike, had started the impeachment process against Governor Fubara in October 2023 prior to the defection. In response, Fubara tried to dissolve the assembly, which resulted in a violent altercation with the state assembly complex being set on fire.