The Rivers State Government has flagged off activities marking its move from emergency administration back to democratic governance with an inter-denominational thanksgiving service scheduled for Sunday.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Secretary to the State Government, Ibibia Worika, the service will hold at the Ecumenical Centre, Abonima Wharf Road, Port Harcourt.
Worika noted that the thanksgiving forms part of the official programmes designed to usher the state into a new era of civilian rule. He invited permanent secretaries, local government chairmen, heads of security and paramilitary agencies, traditional rulers, board members of state-owned agencies, captains of industry and other dignitaries to attend.
All guests are expected to be seated by 9:30 a.m., ahead of the 10 a.m. commencement of the service. The Rivers State Administrator, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), will serve as the Special Guest of Honour.
President Bola Tinubu had imposed a state of emergency on Rivers on March 18, 2025, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly amid a deepening political crisis. The turmoil stemmed from Fubara’s fallout with his predecessor, now FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, which escalated into disputes over legislative legitimacy and the controversial demolition of the Assembly complex in 2023.
Rising insecurity, pipeline vandalism, and what the Supreme Court later described as “despotic” governance further worsened the situation, prompting the President to install Ibas as sole administrator while leaving the judiciary intact.
Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, had defended the emergency rule as a necessary step to salvage governance and restore constitutional order after mediation efforts failed.
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