Thousands of Rivers people on Thursday thronged the Government House in Port Harcourt to welcome back reinstated Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Different groups and supporters of the governor were seen in jubilant mood, beating drums and dancing as they awaited his arrival.
President Bola Tinubu had on Wednesday evening announced the suspension of the state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, thereby restoring the democratically elected governor, his deputy, and members of the State House of Assembly.
Recall that Tinubu had on March 18, 2025, declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending Fubara, his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, and the elected members of the State Assembly for an initial six months over a protracted political crisis.
The declaration followed months of turmoil, marked by a bitter conflict between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Among the flashpoints was the bombing and demolition of the House of Assembly complex in late 2023, alongside disputes over legislative membership and legitimacy.
There were also allegations of widespread pipeline vandalism by militants, while governance was considered paralysed due to constitutional breaches, including a Supreme Court decision that criticised the governor’s handling of Assembly matters as tantamount to “despotism” and declared there was “no functioning government” in Rivers.
As part of his measures during the period, President Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retired) as the sole administrator to oversee the affairs of the state. Judicial institutions, however, were left intact.
In his statewide broadcast on Thursday morning, the outgoing sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, urged political actors in the state to sustain the peace and unity established under his administration.
