Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, appeared in public for the first time on Sunday, March 23, 2027, days after his removal from office by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last Tuesday.
The Governor, looking fresh and unfazed, attended a church service at the headquarters of Salvation Ministries in GRA, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, alongside his Chief of Staff, Hon. Edison Ehie.
In a surprise move, President Tinubu had, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, removed Governor Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, and sacked the State House of Assembly.
The President appointed a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, as the Sole Administrator to oversee the affairs of the state for an initial period of six months.
Ibas was sworn in the following day at the State House, Aso Rock Villa, Abuja by Tinubu.
The move by Tinubu has triggered widespread condemnation by political stakeholders, legal practitioners and civil society groups, who believed the President does not have the constitutional power to do what he did in Rivers.
Indeed, many Nigerians felt Tinubu’s action was skillfully skewed in favour of the controversial FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, a major actor and unrelenting agent provocateur in the Rivers crisis, as part of a grand plan for the 2027 elections.
The Sole Administrator was ted no time assuming office, hitting the ground running. He has made some strategic moves since mounting the saddle at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
He has held several emergency security meetings with law enforcement agencies, traditional rulers and heads of local government administration where he confirmed the release of the withheld allocation and ordered immediate processing of the payment of local government workers.
Photo credit: X phspecials
