Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff was the first Governor of Rivers State

Rivers State

Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Port Harcourt. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta states...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 after it was created from part of the old Eastern Region, Nigeria

Eastern Region, Nigeria

The Eastern Region was one of Nigeria's federal divisions, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its capital was Enugu. The region was official divided in 1967 into three new states, East-Central State, Rivers State and South-Eastern State...

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

Yakubu Gowon

General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another...

.
He was also a member of the Supreme Military Council.

Diete-Spiff is an Ijaw from Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State. Its capital is Yenagoa. The language spoken here is Ijaw language and dialects of the Ijaw language such as Nembe, Atissa, Akassa, Ogbia, etc. However, like the rest of Nigeria,...

 and the Amayanabo (King) of Twon-Brass

Twon-Brass

Twon-Brass 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 His Royal Majesty Alfred Diete-Spiff....

, Bayelsa State, born on 30 July 1942.
He was educated at St. Joseph’s College, Western Cameroon and Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, England.
He joined the Nigerian Navy 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

Nigerian Observer

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

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 Iwowari

Ralph Michael Iwowari, or Mein VII, is the Amanyanabo, or traditional ruler of Nembe Bassambiri, one of the sections of the Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Nigeria....

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.