October 2023: The Crisis Erupts
The political turmoil in Rivers State began on October 29, 2023, when Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Edison Ehie, allegedly led arsonists to set part of the Assembly complex on fire. The attack was reportedly driven by concerns that lawmakers planned to begin impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara the following day.
The next day October 30, 2023, in response to the arson, 26 out of 32 lawmakers voted to remove Hon. Edison Ehie as Majority Leader and suspended him along with four others. Later that same day, the Assembly formally issued an impeachment notice against Governor Fubara. However, before the plenary ended, security operatives, allegedly acting on the governor’s orders, stormed the Assembly complex and fired live bullets and tear gas, forcing Speaker Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule and his colleagues to flee.
That evening, Governor Fubara arrived at the Assembly complex with his supporters and declared the impeachment proceedings null and void. Meanwhile, in a controversial move, Hon. Edison Ehie was purportedly elected Speaker by a four-member faction of lawmakers loyal to Fubara. The governor’s Special Adviser, Boniface Onyedi, announced that 26 lawmakers had elected Ehie, although this claim was widely disputed.
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Fubara then issued Executive Order 001, directing that all Assembly proceedings be held inside the Government House, citing the need for renovations at the legislative chambers.
December 2023: Defections and a Contested Budget
On December 11, 2023, 27 lawmakers led by Speaker Amaewhule defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), further deepening the crisis.
On December 13, 2023, factional Speaker Edison Ehie obtained a court order allowing his four-member Assembly to continue sitting. He then declared vacant the seats of Amaewhule and his colleagues, citing their defection to the APC. That same day, Fubara presented an N800 billion 2024 budget to Ehie’s faction. In an unprecedented move, the four-member Assembly passed the budget on the same day, and Fubara signed it into law on December 14, 2023.
Recognizing the escalating crisis, President Bola Tinubu intervened on December 18, 2023, by brokering a peace deal at the State House in Abuja. The agreement recognized Amaewhule as the legitimate Speaker and directed Fubara to re-present the 2024 budget to the Amaewhule-led Assembly.
However, tensions remained high. On December 29, 2023, Edison Ehie resigned from the Assembly and was later appointed Fubara’s Chief of Staff.
May 2024: Fubara Defies the Assembly
On May 8, 2024, Governor Fubara declared that there was no House of Assembly in Rivers State, openly defying the legislature. The next day, a new factional Speaker, Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo, emerged with Fubara’s endorsement. On May 10, 2024, the governor formally gazetted his October 2023 executive order, solidifying his directive for Assembly sittings to be held in the Government House.
On that same day, the Jumbo-led Assembly obtained a court injunction restraining Amaewhule and 24 lawmakers from acting as legislators. The Court of Appeal later overturned this ruling, stating that the Rivers High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Meanwhile, Amaewhule and his group sued Fubara over the 2024 budget, which he had presented to an illegal four-member Assembly. On January 22, 2024, an Abuja Federal High Court ruled in favor of Amaewhule, ordering Fubara to re-present the budget to the Amaewhule-led Assembly. Fubara appealed, but the Appeal Court dismissed his case on October 10, 2024. Despite the ruling, Fubara refused to comply.
On October 30, 2024, the Federal High Court ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must withhold Rivers State’s FAAC allocations until Fubara submits a valid appropriation bill to the Assembly.
February 2025: Supreme Court Judgment
The legal battle reached the Supreme Court, which delivered its verdict on February 28, 2025. The ruling declared that:
- Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule is the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
- No lawmaker’s seat is vacant; all elected members must resume sitting.
- The 2024 budget, passed by the four-member Assembly, is null and void.
- Rivers State funds cannot be released until a valid budget is passed through the Amaewhule-led Assembly.
March 2025: Escalation and Tinubu’s Intervention
On March 18, 2025, tensions escalated further when a fire broke out on the Trans-Niger Delta Pipeline, operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company. The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the fire, which was noticed the previous night during security patrols. While authorities assured residents that the situation was under control, fears of sabotage heightened concerns.
Later that day, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State. In a nationwide broadcast, Tinubu announced:
- The suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all House of Assembly members for six months.
- The appointment of Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as military administrator to oversee the state’s affairs.
- The invocation of Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, which allows for the suspension of normal constitutional procedures in situations of national danger or disaster.
Conclusion
The political crisis in Rivers State, which began in October 2023, escalated over months of power struggles, legal battles, and defiance of court rulings. With governance at a standstill and security concerns rising,
The coming months will determine whether stability can be restored to the oil-rich state.
Source: Ripples Nigeria
