Hundreds of supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara were left disappointed on Thursday after they stormed the Government House, Port Harcourt, in solidarity with the governor following his reinstatement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The supporters, dressed mostly in white, arrived in busloads from the state’s 23 local government areas. Many first converged at Isaac Boro Park and the Town axis of Port Harcourt before marching to the Government House.

According to sources, the “welcome celebration” was organized by former local government chairmen elected under Fubara but later removed by the Supreme Court. The city had been agog since Wednesday night, with jubilant processions across communities celebrating President Tinubu’s announcement reinstating the governor.

Some supporters, who began arriving in the early hours of Thursday, had hoped to see Fubara in person. Confusion, however, arose when reports filtered in that the governor was in Abuja “to sort out handover issues,” while other accounts suggested he was returning from London.

Frustration mounted when no official came out to address the crowd or deliver the governor’s message.
“We left Etchie this morning with the hope of meeting face-to-face with our elected governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara. But we don’t know what is going on because we have waited for more than four hours without any sign of him,” lamented a member of the pro-Fubara Simplified Group.

With no clarification from Government House, the supporters gradually dispersed, vowing to return once the governor arrives in Port Harcourt.