Rivers Lawmakers Resume, Pass Resolutions to Restore Peace, Governance

Rivers Lawmakers Resume, Pass Resolutions to Restore Peace, Governance

Democracy has been restored in Rivers State as the state House of Assembly resumed its first plenary session on Thursday, September 18, following President Bola Tinubu’s lifting of the six-month emergency rule, which reinstated full democratic governance in the oil-rich state.

The Assembly met for the first time since the emergency was lifted, with a single agenda item on the Order Paper.

After a brief session, the House adjourned until Monday, September 22, 2025, having passed six key resolutions focused on promoting peace and reestablishing normal governance in the state.

Leading these resolutions was a commendation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ending the emergency declared in March.

The lawmakers also pledged to uphold all agreements made to maintain peace and called on Governor Simininalayi Fubara to submit his commissioner nominations for screening. Additionally, the Assembly committed to beginning work immediately on an appropriation bill for the remaining part of the year. This session marks the Assembly’s first formal sitting since the emergency ended and signals its intention to resume regular legislative activities.

The lawmakers convened at 10 a.m. in the Conference Hall of the Legislative Quarters on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, with Speaker Martin Amaewhule presiding. Since the demolition of their official chamber at the Assembly complex on Moscow Road by the state government, the legislators have been meeting in the conference hall.

This sitting follows the resumption of legislative activities suspended in March when President Tinubu dissolved the state’s political structures to halt a violent power struggle between Governor Fubara and a faction loyal to former governor and current FCT minister Nyesom Wike.

A day earlier, Ibok-Ete Ibas, the sole administrator appointed by the president during the emergency, sworn in Inyingi Brown as the substantive Head of Service at a brief ceremony held at Government House, Port Harcourt. Brown had served in an acting capacity since the resignation of former Head of Service George Nwaeke.

At the event, Ibas urged Brown to show the same loyalty to Governor Siminalayi Fubara as she demonstrated during the interim government, stating, “I charge you to offer Governor Siminalayi Fubara equal loyalty you gave to the interim administration when you served in an acting capacity.”

He also described governance as a process requiring sacrifice and dialogue, warning that “power without restraint can cripple institutions, and rivalry without dialogue clearly endangers democracy.”

Among the accomplishments of his interim administration, Ibas highlighted the conduct of local government elections, the reconstitution of statutory boards, and the passage of the state budget by the National Assembly.