President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lift the state of emergency in Rivers State once normalcy is restored, assured Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation. In a statement to The Nation, Idris reaffirmed the President’s commitment to quickly returning the state to full democratic governance.
“As soon as the President determines that peace and order have returned to Rivers State, he will ensure that all democratic structures are reinstated,” Idris stated. He clarified that the President has no plans to take control of the state’s governance or appoint a new governor.
“The President has no intention whatsoever of taking over the governance of Rivers State or appointing a governor for the state,” he added.
Idris defended the decision to impose the state of emergency, calling it a “responsible but painful” move made in line with constitutional powers. He noted that the breakdown of governance in Rivers, with a dysfunctional Assembly and executive challenges, left the President with little choice but to act.
“The way democracy works in Nigeria is that the three arms of government must function together, each checking the other. If only the executive is functioning, we do not have a functioning democracy. Since this was not the case, the President had to intervene,” he explained.
The Minister emphasized that the President’s actions were grounded in the constitution and aimed at preventing the state from descending further into chaos. “The constitution anticipates situations like this, and the President’s actions are in line with that provision,” Idris said.
