Lifting emergency rule is positive optics, but residents will judge by service delivery: salaries, refuse collection, roads, security coordination, and LGA functionality. The first 90 days should focus on stabilising revenue flows to LGAs, auditing ongoing projects, and restoring regular EXCO/House sittings. Peace pacts between political blocs matter — not just press conferences. Civil society should insist on a public “100-day plan” with dates and responsible MDAs. Business confidence returns when permits are predictable and multiple taxation reduces. Security outfits must hold joint briefings to rebuild trust. If elites slip back into factional fights, paralysis will resume. Rivers has the revenue base to run; what it needs now is predictable governance and less theatre. Citizens should keep records and escalate through legal channels, not street clashes.