Muslim Community Hits Governor Fubara With ‘Grand Central Mosque’ Request

It wasn’t just the smell of festive biryani and the rustle of ceremonial robes that filled the air at the Rivers State Government House this Friday. Beneath the smiles and Eid-el-Fitr pleasantries, a significant piece of the state’s social fabric was being rewoven.

A high-powered delegation, led by the influential Nasir Uhor and backed by the heavyweights of the Arewa community, didn’t just come to exchange greetings with Governor Siminalayi Fubara. They came with a blueprint for the future.

While most of the state was winding down from the Ramadan fast, this group was looking toward the horizon. They presented Governor Fubara with three bold requests that could change the skyline of Port Harcourt:

“We are grateful for the audience,” Uhor remarked, his words carrying the weight of a community that has long called the delta home. “But we respectfully appeal for these pillars of our faith to be recognized.”

If the delegation came with demands, Governor Fubara responded with a redefinition of citizenship. In a state often partitioned by “who was here first,” Fubara dropped a bombshell of inclusivity that left the room buzzing.

“Anyone who lives, works, and contributes to the growth of Rivers is, in essence, an indigene,” Fubara declared, effectively erasing the “stranger” label for the Muslim and Arewa communities.

The Governor didn’t just offer security; he offered ownership. He praised the discipline shown during Ramadan and hinted that his administration sees every resident as a “shareholder” in the Rivers project. On the hot-button issue of farmer-herder tensions, Fubara noted that the state’s relative peace wasn’t an accident—it was the result of “proactive engagement.”

The Governor didn’t hand over the keys to a new mosque just yet. He promised that the requests would be “carefully considered” against the state’s budget and priorities.

But the message was clear: The “Garden City” is evolving. Whether the call to prayer will soon echo from a state-backed central minaret remains the big question, but for one afternoon in Port Harcourt, the distance between the Government House and the Ummah felt shorter than ever.