Stephen Anthony Ukpo (16 July 1947 – 6 September 2021) was Minister of Information and Culture, and then 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, from August 1986 until July 1988 during the military administration of General
Ibrahim Babangida.
Military career
Ukpo was born in
Okpoma Okpoma is the headquarters of Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. It has many communities including Olachor, Oba, Abachor, Itega Okpame, Okpudu, Itega Okpudu, Idiku, Ijama, Adeni, Iboko and many more.
It has many salt ponds ...
,
Yala,
Cross River State, 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 t ...
,
Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...
(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 was replaced by General
Ibrahim Babangida. 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 ot ...
.[ 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 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
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 t ...
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, 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, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...
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.[https://thesourceng.com/why-my-father-died-of-covid-19-general-ukpos-son-mailafia-too/]
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