Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has approved the appointment of administrators for the state’s 23 Local Government Areas.
This development comes less than 24 hours after a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt reportedly issued a restraining order barring him from making such appointments. The order was granted on Monday by Justice Adamu Mohammed following an ex parte application filed by Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative, a civil society organisation led by Courage Nsirimovu. Vice Admiral Ibas was named as the sole respondent in the suit.
Despite the court ruling, Ibas has also approved the reconstitution of various boards of state agencies, commissions, and parastatals that had previously been suspended. This was made known in a Special Government Announcement released Wednesday morning by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika.
While the names of the new appointees were not disclosed, the statement noted that all appointments take immediate effect.
The statement read:
“His Excellency, the Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas CFR, has approved the appointments of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He has also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals earlier suspended.
All appointments take effect from Monday, April 7, 2025.”
Last week, Ibas suspended all heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state with immediate effect. In a separate move, he also cancelled all ongoing procurement and tender processes conducted by MDAs, citing the absence of an appropriation law and the recent Supreme Court judgment as reasons for the cancellation.
According to a prior statement issued by the SSG, the sole administrator further directed all MDAs involved in such tender processes to refund fees collected from contractors.
On March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State amid a deepening political crisis. He suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the state House of Assembly for an initial six-month period.
Vice Admiral Ibas, a retired naval chief, was appointed as the sole administrator of the state. Upon assuming office, he suspended all political officeholders appointed by the Fubara administration.
Before the emergency declaration, Governor Fubara had directed elected local government chairpersons to hand over to appointed LGA administrators. That directive came after the Supreme Court nullified the October 2024 local government elections in the state.
