Rufus Ada George (born 11 July 1940) was the second

Governor of Rivers State The Governor of Rivers State is the chief executive of the Rivers State government and is one of the governors of the thirty-six states of Nigeria. The governor is supported by the Deputy Governor, both popularly elected for a term of four yea ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

, holding office from January 1992 until November 1993 during the

Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. Founded (1993) The constitution of the Third Republic was drafted in 1989. General Ibrahim Badamasi B ...

Background

Ada George was born on 11 July 1940 at George-Ama,

Okrika Okrika is an island in Rivers State, Nigeria, capital of the Local Government Area of the same name. The town is situated on an island south of Port Harcourt, making it a suburb of the much larger city. The average elevation of Okrika is 452 ...

, Rivers State. He qualified as an accountant, and became a fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) is a professional accountancy body in Nigeria. It is one of the two professional accountancy associations with regulatory authority in Nigeria, the other being the Association of National Ac ...

. He was an accountant with

Shell Petroleum Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

Development Company of Nigeria from April 1972 to December 1979, where he left as Assistant Chief Accountant to join the

Rivers State government The Government of Rivers State consists of elected representatives and appointed officials responsible for the government of Rivers State, Nigeria. Rivers State has a population of about 5 million people, and is one of the 36 states that make up ...

. Under the administration of Chief Melford Okilo, he was the Secretary to the State Government and had held other positions including Director-General, Works Directorate and Director of Tribunals and Enquires. Later he was the deputy managing director of the investment company Dangil Holdings Limited (1984–1991), before being elected governor of Rivers State.

Governor of Rivers State

Ada George was elected on the

National Republican Convention The National Republican Convention was a Nigerian political party established by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida and ultimately disbanded by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1993. Alignment The party was organized to cat ...

(NRC) platform as Governor of Rivers State in the preliminary elections sponsored by General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

as a step towards full democracy with the Third Republic. He took office in January 1992. His deputy governor was

Peter Odili Peter Otunuya Odili (born 15 August 1948) was the third Governor of Rivers State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Odili is a member of the former ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Background Peter Odili was born on 15 August 1 ...

, who was himself elected governor in 1999. In 1993 the

Ogoni The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South East senatorial district of Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. They number just over 2 million and live in a homeland which they also refer to as Ogoniland. They share common ...

people in Rivers State, led by the

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), is a social movement organization representing the indigenous Ogoni people of Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogoni contend that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), along with ot ...

, protested against exploitation by Shell, Ada George's former employer. Violence resulted. The Ogoni considered that the governor was encouraging the conflict. There was a delay of two months before federal troops were deployed to restore the peace. Ada George's tenure ended when General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

took power in a military coup in November 1993. Ada George retired into private life until the ban on politics was lifted by Abacha's successor

Abdulsalami Abubakar Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...

in 1998.

Later career

After the return to democracy in 1999, Ada-George became a leader of the

All Nigeria Peoples Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

(ANPP) in Rivers State. Violence broke out in

, Rivers State between 22 and 24 September 2001. During another outbreak of violence in

in 2002, reportedly initiated by the ruling

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: *People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) *People's Democratic Party (Domin ...

(PDP), both his houses were burned down. In June 2008 the state Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard accusations that Ada George had sponsored the bush boys in the September 2001 outbreak in an attempt to install the All People's Party (APP) in the area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Rufus Ada Living people 1940 births Governors of Rivers State People from Okrika

Background

Governor of Rivers State

Later career

See also

References