Port Harcourt, Rivers state – An account on X (formerly Twitter) with over 45,000 followers, @PH_Socials, claimed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo asked Governor Siminalayi Fubara to shut down the Rivers state house of assembly.
The poster also claimed the former Nigerian leader told Fubara to declare a state of emergency in the oil-rich state.
The post which was published on Monday, March 17, has garnered over 387,000 views, 747 replies, nearly 2,000 reposts, 5,600 likes, and 487 bookmarks.
The post reads in full:
“OBJ BLOWS HOT
“Shutdown Rivers Assembly. Declare State of Emergency in Rivers State – Obasanjo Visits SIM Fubara.
“Withdraw security personnel from all Rivers Assembly members. Shut down NNPC, shut down NDDC, and dismantle any forces that may rise against you.
“You are the governor, elected by the people. You are the Chief Security Officer of Rivers State. What you order stands—neither Tinubu nor Wike put you in power. Demolish any hall or arena set to host your impeachment. Tinubu needs Rivers votes to win the 2027 election, and you stand in his way.
“Stop playing U.S. politics in a country like this—there is no law here, everything is lawless.
“Obasanjo Visits Sim Fubara, Advises Him on How to Handle Wike and Tinubu.”
Rivers govt debunks report on Obasanjo
Reacting to the viral report, the Rivers state government on Tuesday, March 18, denied the report of Obasanjo’s visit to the Government House, Port Harcourt, in what many believe was a fresh move to tame the tide of the ongoing political crisis in the state.
The government also denied the alleged visit of pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF) equally in an attempt to broker peace between Governor Fubara and the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
A statement by Nelson Chukwudi, the chief press secretary (CPS) to Governor Fubara, described the viral tweet as “malicious”.
Vanguard quoted the Rivers state government as saying:
“There is also another planted by some people bent on causing chaos and anarchy in the state, alleging that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, paid a visit to the Governor in Government House, Port Harcourt.
“We would not have responded to these spurious claims and obvious fake news on social media, but for the erroneous impression they may create on the minds of gullible and unsuspecting members of the public, and indeed, well-meaning Rivers people”.
Chukwudi said in the statement that there was no such visit by any delegation of PANDEF to Governor Fubara on the said date, neither did Obj—as Obasanjo is fondly called—visit the Rivers’ No.1 citizen.
The government’s rebuttal added:
“Whatever the purveyors of the vexatious narratives are pushing on social media are only the imagination of enemies of the State, who do not want peace, good governance and even development that the present administration has been working hard to bequeath to the present and future generations”.
The CPS stressed that Governor Fubara has made it abundantly clear that he would comply and implement, to the fullest, the Supreme Court’s judgment on the political crisis in Rivers state.
Fubara: Impeachment fever grips Rivers
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Rivers assembly served a notice of alleged gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
