As Governor Siminalayi Fubara once again settles down firmly to the business of governance, he appoints a new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to further consolidate his hold on the administrative structures of the state in defiance of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, just as the governor revokes Secretariat Contract by Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd) at N134 billion and demands a refund of N20 billion mobilization fee
By Chinedu Oguh and Jude Nzennaya, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has made a bold statement as he dares Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike by appointing Barrister Benibo Anabraba as the new Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
Tentacle learnt that penultimate weekend, Governor Fubara had a peace meeting with Wike’s loyalists including the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, the lawmakers, top politicians and leaders of thought loyal to Wike.
Sources disclosed that Wike, who straddles as Fubara’s political godfather handed him the list of those to be appointed as commissioners, Secretary to the Government and Chief of Staff (CoS) from the structure of his political pressure group, the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI).
But the former governor received a shock when Fubara ignored and went ahead to appoint Anabraba, a former member of the rested Simplified Movement, as the new SSG against Wike’s nominee, a development that marks the first key political appointment by the governor upon return to office after the lifting of the State of Emergency in Rivers State.
Governor Fubara in his charge to Anabraba on Monday, October 13, 2025 at the Government House Port Harcourt, said, “God has brought you in at this particular time to be the Secretary to the State Government of Rivers State. it is a position of honour. So guard that office with honour. Discharge your duties with respect and protect the interest of Rivers State so that when you leave office, it would be with honour. You can only leave with honour when you discharge your duties responsibly.”
The governor also told Anabraba his former cabinet member and one time Minority Leader, Rivers State House of Assembly, “Within the period we worked together, you did well as a very dedicated person.” He urged the newly sworn-in SSG not to use the opportunity to display or show of force of office, but see it as a call to duty, adding, “We are just coming out from a very bad situation, so we need to reassure the people of Rivers State that we mean well for them especially now that peace has returned to the state.”
It would be recalled that Anabraba is the second former Minority Leader of Rivers State House of Assembly to be appointed as Secretary to Rivers State Government (SSG) and was the Minority Leader during the time of Rt. Hon. Otelema Amachree as Speaker of the House during former Governor Rotimi Amaechi as governor of Rivers State.
While Senator Magnus Abe was the first Minority Leader to be appointed SSG by Amaechi on October 26, 2007, Anabraba was appointed on October 10, 2025. Again, Chief Senator Magnus Abe who is now Chairman of the National Agency for Great Green Wall, was appointed Commissioner for Information by then Governor Peter Odili after serving his term as a Minority Leader, just as Anabraba was appointed Commissioner for Lands and Housing after leaving office as a Minority Leader by Governor Fubara on October 7, 2024 before his appointment was affected by Supreme Court judgment of Friday, February 28, 2025.
But some political analysts in the state are of the view that the former SSG, Chief (Hon.) Dr. Tammy Danagogo who received the bullet for governor Fubara was sacrificed to appease his political godfather, Wike, former governor of oil-rich Rivers State.
But a social commentator, Dr. Victor Aduba, disagrees with them, saying in an interview with Tentacle that the difference between Chief Tammy Danagogo and Anabraba is just like that between six and half a dozen.
According to him, both of them are from the same village Abonenema in Akuku Toro Local Government Area of the state and that it was Danagogo his political godfather that paved the way for him to be elected as a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly and also ensured that he emerged as the Minority Leader.
Again, he said that it was Danagogo that recommend Anabraba to Governor Fubara before he (Fubara) appointed him Commissioner for Lands and Housing, a portfolio previously held by Danagogo during Amaechi’s administration.
Another source told Tentacle that Danagogo has seen it all in politics from the local government to the state and national levels and has decided to pave the way for his political son to succeed him.
He was former Chairman Akuku Toro Local Government Area, former Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs and later Commissioner for Lands and Housing, former Minister of Sports and Youth Development during Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency.
Danagogo, who holds a PhD in law from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) like his successor, Anabraba is also a PhD holder in law and was sworn in as SSG on June 10, 2019 by former Governor Wike and served in that position until Wike left office on May 29, 2023.
He was again appointed again by Governor Fubara to continue in the same position on June 22, 2023 until he was replaced with Anabraba.
In a related development, Fubara canceled Secretariat Contract awarded by Vice Admiral Ikot Ete Ibas (rtd) at the cost of N134 Billion as he demanded full refund, fuelling speculations that the governor was unleashing an offensive against Wike.
The decision was announced during a meeting in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Executive Council.
The contract was awarded earlier in the year under Ibas, who ran the state as Sole Administrator between March 18 and September 17, 2025 just as the contract was criticized for its exorbitant cost and lack of competitive bidding processes by the Rivers State government.
The Council reached at the decision Thursday, October 16, 2025 at its meeting and also directed the company to refund the N20 billion mobilization fee it earlier received for the project.
The Rivers State Executive Council equally approved a six-man committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, to evaluate and make recommendations for the construction of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the state to facilitate the conduct of external examinations.
It further directed the flood committee to address flooding and cautioned residents against blocking drainage channels across the state.
