Stephen Anthony Ukpo (16 July 1947 – 6 September 2021) was Minister of Information and Culture, and then Governor of

Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...

, Nigeria, from August 1986 until July 1988 during the military administration of General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

Military career

Ukpo was born in Okpoma, Yala,

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

, on 16 July 1947. Joining the army, he was appointed Company Commander (1968), Battalion Commander (1969 and 1971 – 1973), Brigade Major (1970) and Instructor,

Nigeria Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of ...

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...

(1973–1974). He was a member of the inner circle of army officers who arranged the bloodless coup on 27 August 1985 when General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

was replaced by General

. After the coup he was appointed a member of the AFRC. He was appointed deputy director, Defence Intelligence Agency (1985). On 12 September 1985, he was sworn in as Minister of Information and Culture. He was appointed military governor of Rivers State on 26 August 1986. In this post, he inaugurated the provisional council of the

Rivers State Polytechnic Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic (formerly Rivers State Polytechnic) is a tertiary learning institution in Bori City, Khana Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. It has two campuses, one for the School of Management Sciences and the ...

. He reassigned to become principal staff officer to President

in July 1988. In this role in April 1990 Ukpo told reporters that 10 officers and more than 150 soldiers from the lower ranks had been arrested in an attempted coup attempt against Babangida. He was retired as a Brigadier.

Later career

His wife, Sally Ufuoma Ukpo, was a teacher and in 2006 was running a travel and tours company. After retirement, he became a member of the board of directors of Skye Bank. When Cross River state Governor

Donald Duke Donald Duke (born 30 September 1961 in Calabar) is a Nigerian politician. He was the Governor of Cross River State, Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007 and the 2019 Nigeria Presidential candidate for Social Democratic Party, SDP. Personal ...

put up the Metropolitan Hotel for sale, Ukpo was said to have made the highest bid of N600 million. His offer was turned down, and the hotel later sold for N200 million. In September 2008 he presented the results of a feasibility study for a mono-rail system of transportation in Port Harcourt. Ukpo was the leader of a partnership to construct the railway. In October 2009 the Rivers State government signed an agreement with TSI Property and Investment Holdings to undertake the project at a cost of $318 million. Ukpo said that the mono-rail would be the first of its kind in Africa. In an interview in July 2009, Ukpo protested strongly against the recent transfer of 76 oil wells from Cross River State to

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...

, and expressed hope that a committee set up by President

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 Ma ...

would find a politically reasonable solution. He has been a vocal voice in politics right from the grass root to the federal level. In 2021 he died from COVID-19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukpo, Stephen Anthony 1947 births 2021 deaths Nigerian military governors of Rivers State People from Cross River State Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria