President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing the ongoing political crisis and recent attacks on oil pipelines by militants. The announcement was made during a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday night, March 18, 2025.
Tinubu expressed deep concern over the worsening situation in the oil-rich state, stating that his repeated efforts to mediate between the warring political factions had failed. He accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy of ignoring his attempts to restore peace.
Tinubu said, “Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern, hoping that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail. But that hope has burned out without a solution to the crisis.”
Breakdown of Governance in Rivers
The crisis in Rivers State has paralyzed governance for over a year. Tinubu accused Governor Fubara of demolishing the state’s House of Assembly on December 13, 2023, and failing to rebuild it after 14 months. This, he said, effectively crippled the legislative arm of government and prevented democratic governance from functioning properly.
“A government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case, the head of the executive arm has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without it as a despot. As it is, there is no government in Rivers State,” the president quoted a Supreme Court judgment delivered on February 28, 2025.
The judgment confirmed that 27 lawmakers who had defected from the ruling party remained legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and should not be prevented from performing their legislative duties. Despite this ruling, Tinubu lamented that the crisis persisted, leading to further instability in the state.
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Militant Attacks on Oil Pipelines
The president also raised concerns about rising insecurity, saying militants loyal to the governor had been involved in acts of vandalism and pipeline destruction.
“Some militants have threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemies of the governor, who has up till now NOT disowned them,” Tinubu said.
He further revealed that fresh security reports indicated that oil pipelines in the state had been attacked between Monday and Tuesday, March 17-18, 2025. The destruction, he said, posed a serious threat to national economic interests.
“The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today, there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militants, without the governor taking any action to curtail them,” he stated.
Tinubu assured citizens that security agencies had been directed to restore peace and protect the lives and properties of residents, as well as critical oil infrastructure.
Justification for the State of Emergency
Citing constitutional provisions, Tinubu said it was necessary to invoke Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State. He noted that neither the governor nor his deputy made a formal request for such a declaration, but the gravity of the situation made it inevitable.
He declared, “With all these and many more, no responsible president will stand by and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution.
“In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, March 18, 2025.”
With this declaration, the Rivers State government will be placed under federal control, with a military administrator likely to be appointed to oversee governance until stability is restored.