The Rivers State Government has issued a firm rebuttal regarding a circulating social media report that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has ordered the shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and all oil companies operating within Rivers State.
In a statement signed by Warisenibo Joe Johnson, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, the government dismissed the report as “concocted propaganda” from sources aiming to destabilize the image of the state.
The state government added that the claim is baseless, false, and wholly fabricated to sow discord and mislead the public.
The statement furthered that the rumour was disseminated by a “spurious and unverified medium” lacking credibility, which has repeatedly demonstrated a penchant for spreading inflammatory and unsubstantiated information.
“Governor Siminalayi Fubara remains firmly committed to lawful governance and established protocols,” Johnson clarified, stressing that the administration abides by the rule of law and would not engage in unorthodox or abrupt measures that could disrupt the state’s economy.
“At no time did the governor consider or issue a directive for such a shutdown. The notion of arbitrarily halting operations vital to the economic well-being of the state is not only absurd but reflects a profound misunderstanding of the governor’s leadership philosophy and commitment to prosperity,” the statement reads partly.
The government, therefore, urges residents of Rivers State and Nigerians at large to disregard this misinformation as an attempt to distract from genuine governance efforts.