The Rivers State House of Assembly has reopened its doors after six months of emergency rule, with lawmakers resolving to scrutinise the state’s finances under the stewardship of Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), who served as sole administrator.
Meeting on Thursday, September 18, the legislators also requested Governor Siminalayi Fubara to forward a list of commissioner-nominees for screening, a step seen as crucial in restoring full democratic governance to the state.
Speaker Martins Amaewhule presided over the plenary, which held at the legislative quarters conference hall since the assembly complex is still undergoing reconstruction following its demolition earlier in the year.
READ ALSO: Rivers Assembly Resumes Plenary as Tinubu Lifts Six-Month Emergency
The move follows President Bola Tinubu’s decision to lift emergency rule on September 17, restoring democratic institutions that had been suspended in March amid a bitter political standoff between Governor Fubara and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
During the period, Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Nma Odu, and the state lawmakers were suspended from office, with Ibas appointed to oversee governance.
With democratic structures now back in place, the assembly’s latest resolutions mark the first steps in resuming its constitutional duties.