Rivers State is rolling out the hymn books after six months of democratic stagnation, with a grand thanksgiving service to mark the end of President Bola Tinubu’s emergency rule.
The inter-denominational spectacle will be staged Sunday at the Ecumenical Centre, Port Harcourt, with the state’s elite, from security chiefs to traditional rulers, ordered to take their seats before 9:30 a.m.
On parade as Special Guest of Honour, is Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the no-nonsense administrator Tinubu installed to run Rivers when Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy were booted aside.
Secretary to the State Government Ibibia Worika declared, “The Government of Rivers State is pleased to invite the Permanent Secretaries, Local Government Chairmen, Heads of State Security and Para-Military Agencies, Traditional Rulers, Chairmen and members of Boards and Governing Councils, Captains of industries, Government Officials and invited guests to the Inter-Denominational Church Thanksgiving Service, as part of transition activities to usher in Democratic Governance in Rivers State.”
The thanksgiving closes a vicious chapter on Fubara’s war with his predecessor Nyesom Wike spiralled into chaos, the Assembly complex was razed, militants ran wild, and the Supreme Court branded Fubara’s antics “despotism,” warning there was “no functioning government” left in Rivers.
Tinubu slammed down the hammer on March 18, suspending the governor, his deputy and the entire legislature, leaving Ibas to keep the state from total collapse. Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi later justified the drastic move as the only option to save Rivers from ruin.
