The Rivers State House of Assembly has resumed plenary sessions following the expiration of the six-month emergency rule imposed by President Bola Tinubu, which officially ended on Thursday.
President Tinubu lifted the emergency declaration on September 17, directing Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state legislature to return to their official duties starting September 18.
Thursday’s plenary session is being presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, and is taking place at the conference hall within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt. The hall has served as a temporary chamber since the official Assembly complex on Moscow Road was set ablaze and subsequently demolished by the state government during the height of the political crisis.
The former sole administrator of the state, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, was unable to complete reconstruction of the Assembly complex before the end of his interim leadership.
The emergency rule was declared by President Tinubu on March 18, amid a deepening political crisis in the oil-rich state, stemming from a prolonged rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Details later…
