ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in oil-producing Rivers State and moved to suspend the state governor, his deputy and all lawmakers. Rivers state had been embroiled in a political crisis pitting factions of the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) against each other.

In a decisive move aimed at restoring order and governance in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state on Tuesday, 18th March 2025. The declaration came after months of escalating political unrest and a failure by the state’s leadership to resolve the crisis,

The Rivers State Government says it is surprised at the State of Emergency declared on the state by President Bola Tinubu as the state was being properly governed by the Siminalayi Fubara administration. The state’s commissioner for information, Warisenibo Johnson, in a statement late on Tuesday, declared the stance of the state government.