PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, said on Saturday, August 30, 2025, that the path is now clear for the termination of the emergency rule in Rivers following the conduct of local government elections.
Speaking to journalists after casting his vote, Wike said the elections had created the conditions for the restoration of full governance structures in the state.
“I do know that by September 18, the state of emergency will expire, and that would mean that the state governor and state assembly will come back to their job, and we will have a government at the grassroots level,” Wike said.
“Having done this (LG elections), then the coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, being that the state government has its representative and the local government has its representatives, so we are good to go.”
President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers earlier this year after a political crisis led to instability in the state.
The order suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months.
In June, Tinubu hosted a peace meeting at the State House in Abuja attended by Wike, Fubara, and members of the state assembly in a bid to de-escalate tensions.
Saturday’s election was conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) under the supervision of Ibok-Ete Ibas, the state’s sole administrator.
Wike described the exercise as peaceful and dismissed reports of voter apathy.
“As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful. People are trooping out, and at the end of the day, the election has been conducted successfully and peacefully,” he said.
He also downplayed concerns about the absence of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the polls.
