Thousands of residents of Rivers State on Thursday trooped to the Government House in Port Harcourt to welcome the reinstated Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, after six months of emergency rule.
Videos and images from the scene showed jubilant supporters, drummers, and cultural groups chanting and dancing as they awaited the governor’s arrival.
Governor Fubara and his deputy were suspended in March 2025 after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers.
He cited a breakdown of governance triggered by a fierce political crisis between Fubara and his predecessor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
The crisis reached its peak with the bombing and demolition of the State House of Assembly complex in late 2023, disputes over legislative legitimacy, and allegations of widespread pipeline vandalism by militants.
Governance was paralysed, and in a later ruling, the Supreme Court described the Assembly impasse under Fubara as “despotism,” declaring that “there was no functioning government in Rivers.”
During the emergency, President Tinubu appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator.
Judicial institutions were allowed to function, while executive and legislative activities were frozen.
On Wednesday night, Ibas officially handed over power to Governor Fubara in Port Harcourt.
In his farewell state-wide broadcast, he said: “One of the enduring lessons of this season is that the exercise of power without restraint can cripple institutions, and rivalry without dialogue endangers democracy. I urge all Rivers people to support Governor Fubara wholeheartedly because leadership and followership is a shared responsibility.”
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