Rivers: Emergency rule to end soon – FG

The Federal Government (FG) has assured that the emergency rule imposed on Rivers State will be lifted as soon as normalcy is restored.

Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, made this known in an interview with The Nation newspaper, stating that President Bola Tinubu is committed to reinstating democratic structures in the state.

“As soon as he assesses that sanity has returned to Rivers State, he will ensure the restoration of all democratic structures in that state,” Idris said.

He emphasized that the president has no ulterior motives regarding the state’s governance, dismissing speculations of a political takeover.

“The president has no intention whatsoever to take over the governance of Rivers State. He has no intention to be or to appoint a governor for Rivers State,” he stated.

Idris explained that the decision to impose emergency rule was necessary due to the collapse of governance in the state, which required urgent intervention.

“The way democracy is designed in this country is that the three arms of government must work together, and one will be checking the other,” he said.

“So, we cannot have just the executive functioning and say we have a functional democracy. We didn’t have that, and therefore, the president had to act.”

The minister reiterated that President Tinubu will not keep emergency rule in place longer than necessary, stressing that the move was taken in line with constitutional provisions to restore order.