Tinubu Meets Rivers Sole Administrator as State of Emergency Nears End

Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas

President Tinubu met Rivers Sole Administrator as state of emergency nears end.

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday held a closed-door meeting with the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The session, which lasted over two hours, comes just weeks before the expiration of the six-month state of emergency imposed on the oil-rich state.

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The emergency rule, declared on March 18, 2025, followed a prolonged political crisis that engulfed Rivers State. In his nationwide broadcast at the time, Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly, invoking Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to justify the intervention.

Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff, was subsequently appointed Sole Administrator with a mandate to restore order and ensure stability during the six-month period.

Although details of Wednesday’s meeting were not made public, Villa sources revealed that discussions centered on security updates, transition arrangements, and possible handover plans ahead of the September 18 deadline.

The Rivers crisis had escalated into violent clashes, legislative deadlock, and threats to public order, prompting the drastic federal action. Under the emergency rule, executive and legislative powers of the state have remained vested in the Presidency through Ibas.