Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff (born 30 July 1942) was the first Military Governor of

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

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 o ...

after it was created from part of the old

Eastern Region, Nigeria The Eastern Region was an administrative region in Nigeria, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its first capital was Calabar. The capital was later moved to Enugu and the second capital was Umuahia. ...

. He held office from May 1967 until July 1975 during the military administration of General

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquish ...

. He was also a member of the Supreme Military Council. Diete-Spiff is an

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people *Ijaw languages The Izon languages (), otherwise known as the Ịjọ languages, are the languages spoken by the Izon people in southern Nigeria. Classification The Ijo languages were traditionally considered a ...

from

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

and the Amayanabo (King) of

Twon-Brass Twon-Brass, previously known simply as Brass or Brasstown, is a community on Brass Island in the Nun River estuary of Southern Bayelsa State, Nigeria, in the Brass Local Government Area. The royal Chief is Alfred Diete-Spiff. The town is on the ...

, Bayelsa State, born on 30 July 1942. He was educated at St. Joseph's College in Western Cameroon and

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

in Dartmouth, England. He joined the

Nigerian Navy The Nigerian Navy (NN) is a branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of several thousand personnel, including those of the Coast Guard. History The Nigerian Navy owes its origin to ...

and was commissioned ships diving officer in 1964. When appointed Military Governor of Rivers State in 1967, he was a Naval Lieutenant Commander aged 25. In 1973, a correspondent for the ''

Nigerian Observer ''The Nigerian Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It has been published since 29 May 1968. The publisher, Bendel Newspapers Company Limited, is owned by the Edo State Government. In 1973, a correspondent ...

'' wrote an article about an impending teacher's strike, which was published on Diete-Spiff's birthday. Taking this as a deliberate insult, Diete-Spiff's aide

Ralph Iwowari Ralph Michael Iwowari, or Mein VII (19302013), was the Amanyanabo, or traditional ruler of Nembe-Bassambiri, one of the sections of the Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. In July 1973, Ralph Iwowari was aide-de-camp to the military Governo ...

had the reporter's head publicly shaved and had him beaten with 24 lashes of a cane. In December 2009, Diete-Spiff was National Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Auctioneers. He was in the 2005 Confab and served in the Committee on Models and Structure of Government. He has a son who auditioned for

Nigerian Idol ''Nigerian Idol'' is the local version of the Idol series franchise. It is the second Idol franchise for the country as it was already part of Idols West Africa which was also shot and produced in Stockholm, Sweden. The show started with its fir ...

s Season 7.

Awards

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours where the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal R ...

(CFR) was conferred on him by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

References

1942 births Living people People from Bayelsa State Ijaw people Nigerian military governors of Rivers State Nigerian Navy officers Nigerian Navy personnel {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub