Photo: President Tinubu with V.Adm Ibas at State House on Wednesday
By Deborah Nnamdi
Vice Admiral Ibot-Ete Ibas (Retd) was on Wednesday inaugurated as the Administrator of Rivers State, with an assurance from the Federal Government to release the state’s financial allocation to the administrator.
Vice Admiral Ibas was announced as the Administrator of the troubled Rivers State on Tuesday evening by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who announced the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy Prof Ngozi Ordu, along with the members of the state assembly.
Tinubu, in his televised broadcast to Nigerians, said, “By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
“In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.”
The President hinged his action on the protracted political crisis between Fubara and four members of the state assembly on one hand, and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike and 27 members of the House on the other.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, who witnessed the ceremony, debunked reports that Wike, a close ally of President Tinubu, was instrumental to Fubara’s fate.
Speaking at the State House in Abuja, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency, stating that it was necessary to prevent a political implosion in the state.
“We have about two years into this administration. Now, when do you think the President should have intervened? Should he have waited until everything was destroyed? I don’t think so,” he said.
Fagbemi added that Tinubu had previously attempted to mediate the crisis, giving all parties involved ample time to reconcile their differences before deciding to impose emergency rule.
Fagbemi assured that Rivers State’s allocation from the Federation Account would be made available to Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.), who was appointed as the State’s sole administrator by President Tinubu.
“If the administrator requests it, the allocation will be released to him,” Fagbemi stated. “To me, it is for the release of that fund because the extraordinary situation has taken the state out of the normal governance process.”
