PORT HARCOURT: Many women in Rivers State staged a dramatic walkout on Thursday during a high-profile women’s empowerment event held at the EUI Centre in Port Harcourt. The disruption occurred shortly after Theresa Ibas, wife of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Retd.), the Sole Administrator of the state, began delivering her remarks.
The women, visibly angry and emotionally charged, interrupted the event and made it abundantly clear that they were not willing to listen to Mrs. Ibas. In a unified display of protest, they rose from their seats and exited the venue en masse, chanting slogans such as “We want Sim” a reference to Valerie Fubara, wife of the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, whom they insisted should be the only person allowed to speak at the gathering.
This public display of dissent took place under the banner of the Renewed Hope Initiative, a program aimed at empowering women and fostering socio-economic inclusion. However, the political undercurrents overshadowed the event’s purpose. Videos shared on the social media platform X by Port Harcourt Socials vividly captured the moment dozens of women marched out of the hall, chanting in unison and rejecting Theresa Ibas’s presence outright.
This is not who we want to hear from, one of the protesters shouted. Where is Sim’s wife? That’s the only First Lady we recognize!
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The protest follows weeks of growing discontent in Rivers State stemming from President Bola Tinubu’s controversial decision in March to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The president subsequently declared a state of emergency and appointed Vice Admiral Ibas, a close ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Fubara’s predecessor, Nyesom Wike, as the interim administrator of the state.
Many in Rivers, particularly grassroots women’s groups, view this federal intervention as an imposition and a subversion of democratic norms. They see Ibas as a political outsider installed by the central government, and by extension, consider his wife an illegitimate figure to represent or address them in any capacity.
“The wife of a stranger cannot speak for us. Who is she? She doesn’t know us, and we don’t know her. Let her pack her bags and leave,” one woman angrily declared during the protest.
Another demonstrator added, We are waiting for Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady of Nigeria. She’s the only one who can talk to us now. But most of all, we want Sim. Sim must return. Not tomorrow, today.
The protest serves as yet another flashpoint in the ongoing political tension within Rivers State, underscoring the deep division between supporters of the suspended governor and those aligned with federal authorities.
It also highlights the pivotal role women’s groups are playing in challenging perceived political overreach and advocating for local leadership they believe truly represents their interests.
