Disappointment in Port Harcourt as Fubara Supporters Wait in Vain at Government House

Thousands of supporters of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who thronged the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday morning, were left disappointed after waiting for hours without seeing the governor.

The supporters, many of whom arrived as early as 6 a.m. from various parts of the state  including remote communities  gathered at the Government House gate in anticipation of Fubara’s return following the expiration of the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State.

By noon, however, frustration began to set in as the governor failed to show up. Between 12 noon and 1 p.m., large groups of supporters were seen leaving the venue.

Some of the leaders of the crowd, including sacked local government chairmen loyal to Fubara, were visibly unsettled, making repeated calls as the governor’s whereabouts remained unknown. Among those present were the former chairman of Obio/Akpor, Chijoke Ihunwo, and his Port Harcourt City counterpart, Ezebunwo Itche-Mati.

Notably absent were supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the newly elected local government chairmen allied to him.

Some departing supporters expressed their disappointment openly.
“We are going because we are hungry. Maybe when the governor comes, we will return,” one of them told reporters.

The development came barely 24 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu officially lifted the state of emergency imposed on Rivers State in March 2025. The proclamation had suspended the offices of the governor, deputy governor, and members of the State House of Assembly following a political standoff that crippled governance.

Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Wednesday, declared that the emergency rule would end by midnight, paving the way for Governor Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Nma Odu, and Speaker Martins Amaewhule to return to their offices.

The six-month intervention had seen the appointment of former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), as administrator of the state.

While the President praised the new spirit of cooperation among stakeholders in Rivers, Thursday’s anticlimax at the Government House highlights the uncertainty still hanging over the state’s political climate.