The controversy surrounding the resignation of Dr. George Nwaeke, former Head of the Rivers State Civil Service, took another turn on Saturday as he denied claims by his wife, Florence, that he had been kidnapped.
In a video statement released in the early hours of Saturday, Dr. Nwaeke dismissed his wife’s concerns, stating that he was safe in Abuja, where he had traveled to voluntarily report himself to security agencies regarding the political crisis in Rivers State.
“I am in TRANSCORP Abuja. I arrived this morning from Port Harcourt to meet security agencies and report myself, as well as the troubling events happening in Rivers State. I resigned as Head of Service on Monday because of these developments,” he said.
He also alleged that his wife had been misled and coerced into making her claims. “I just saw a video of my wife trending. She was told I had been kidnapped and given a script to read. I want to make it clear—I am not kidnapped. I am in Abuja, working. When I was Head of Service, my wife was not involved in my official duties. That script she read is null and void. I am safe and sound,” he stated.
Florence Nwaeke, in an emotional interview on Friday, had raised concerns over her husband’s safety after failing to reach him following his arrival in Abuja.
“When he got to Abuja, he called to say he had landed. I thanked God for his safety,” she recounted. “But later, I started receiving calls that he had granted an interview. I was confused—what interview? Interview for what?”
She described her desperate attempts to reach him, saying, “I sent him messages. I asked, ‘Are you under duress? Have they kidnapped you? Talk to me now. Why are you not responding?’ But he didn’t reply. His numbers are not going through. Nigerians, help me! My husband is in trouble.”
The controversy erupted after Dr. Nwaeke publicly accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of orchestrating the bombing of the Rivers State House of Assembly in 2023 to prevent his impeachment. He claimed to have witnessed a bag of money being handed over to Edison Ehie, the former Assembly leader and now Fubara’s Chief of Staff, to execute the attack on the Assembly Complex along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
