The Quiet Emergency in Rivers: When Oversight Was Suspended

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, the nation was told it was the only way to resolve a deepening political impasse. What followed, however, raises questions far beyond politics.

For six months, Rivers was run not by its elected governor and legislature, but by a sole administrator with sweeping control over the state’s finances. Between March and August 2025, federation records show that Rivers received ₦254.37 billion — one of the largest allocations in recent memory.

The coincidence of massive inflows with the suspension of oversight is too sharp to ignore. Without the normal checks of an elected assembly and accountable executive, public resources moved in ways that remain opaque. Stakeholders across the state now point to unmet infrastructure promises and unexplained expenditures.

The central question is this: was Rivers’ emergency truly about stabilizing politics, or was it about stabilizing finances for purposes yet to unfold? With the 2027 elections on the horizon, the optics of such concentrated spending power cannot be divorced from electoral realities.

Transparency demands more than explanations offered behind closed doors. Nigeria cannot afford another cycle where extraordinary measures become financial pipelines for political advantage.

If this precedent holds, emergency rule may quietly become the most efficient way to move resources off the books of accountability.