The Rivers State House of Assembly on Thursday resumed plenary following the expiration of the six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The plenary session, which was presided over by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, held at the conference hall within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Earlier, the now-outgone administrator of Rivers State, retired Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, officially handed over to the reinstated Governor, Siminalayi Fubara. In his farewell statewide broadcast, Ibas urged Rivers people to rally behind Fubara as he resumes leadership duties.
President Tinubu had suspended Governor Fubara on March 18, 2025, while declaring an emergency rule in Rivers State, citing a constitutional impasse between the governor and the House of Assembly that had brought governance to a halt. The emergency administration was lifted at midnight on September 17, 2025.
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Reacting to the development, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar faulted both the suspension and reinstatement of Fubara, describing Tinubu’s action as unconstitutional and dictatorial.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Atiku wrote: “Lifting the suspension of Governor Simi Fubara is nothing to cheer about. The suspension of the Rivers State Governor and the State House of Assembly was unconstitutional when it was done six months ago and is still illegal today. President Tinubu had no power to suspend a democratically elected governor and state lawmakers. The Rivers shenanigans only signpost the dictatorship of the Tinubu administration.”
The resumption of the Assembly and Governor Fubara’s reinstatement is expected to reset the political atmosphere in Rivers State, which had been under tight federal control for half a year.
