Despite the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, the House of Representatives convened its plenary session on Wednesday without acknowledging or reading any formal communication from the Presidency regarding the proclamation.

The plenary session on Wednesday was presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.

President Bola Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State for six months.

The President also suspended the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, as well as the members of the State House of Assembly.

Tinubu further nominated Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the period.

Ordinarily, according to the 1999 Constitution, a presidential proclamation of emergency rule in any state requires formal notification to the National Assembly in line with Section 305 of the Constitution, which mandates the President to transmit the declaration to both chambers for ratification.

However, as the House sat for its scheduled business, no such communication was presented or acknowledged apart from the heated exchange between two female lawmakers on the emergency rule in Rivers State, which happened before the commencement of plenary.

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The two female lawmakers, Marie Ebikake (PDP, Bayelsa) and Blessing Amadi (PDP, Rivers), had engaged in a shouting match on the constitutionality of the President’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers.

It took the intervention of other lawmakers in the chamber to prevent the issue from snowballing into an uncontrollable situation.

Thereafter, Kalu arrived at the chamber, and lawmakers proceeded with routine matters, including the consideration of bills and motions, without reference to the situation in Rivers State.

There was no official explanation as to why the expected presidential communication was omitted from proceedings, as the plenary was adjourned to Thursday.

This was, however, contrary to the statement from the Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Akin Rotimi, on Tuesday.

Rotimi had said the President’s formal letter, informing the House of Representatives of his decision and seeking approval in line with Section 305 of the Constitution, had been transmitted and would be read during plenary on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, after which further legislative action would be debated and decided.

However, as of 1:30 p.m., when the plenary session ended and was adjourned, no such letter or proclamation was read by the Deputy Speaker, who presided over the plenary.