BY GODWIN OBI
The immediate past Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), and the Rivers State House of Assembly may be heading for a showdown following the lawmakers’ decision to probe the state’s expenditure under his tenure, Frontline Reporters has learnt.
Ibas ceased to be the administrator of the oil-rich state on September 17, following the end of the six-month emergency rule. This came after President Bola Tinubu directed the suspended state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the members of the state House of Assembly to resume office the previous Thursday.
During its first plenary after resumption, the House, presided over by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, resolved to investigate how the state’s consolidated revenue fund was managed during the emergency rule, especially expenditures on contract awards and other commitments.
Findings by Frontline Reporters showed that Rivers State received at least N254.37bn from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025 under the sole administrator. The analysis was based on official National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data up to June, and FAAC documents for July and August reviewed by Frontline Reporters.
The allocations averaged N42.40bn monthly, with oil derivation accounting for more than half (52.4 per cent) of inflows. The state also lost N26.31bn to debt servicing during the period.
Despite these huge receipts, Rivers has yet to publish its 2025 Budget Implementation Report, leaving citizens and civil society groups in the dark over how the funds were utilised.
Civil Society Organisations have already demanded accountability. The Coalition of CSOs, led by Enefaa Georgewill, argued that the process which brought Ibas to power was unconstitutional and insisted that his financial management lacked transparency. Similarly, the Civil Liberties Organisation in Rivers State described the six-month administration as an “illegal emergency government” that must account for every naira received.
Ibas Pushes Back
Reacting, Ibas said the lawmakers lacked the authority to probe him since they neither appointed him nor supervised his activities as administrator. Speaking through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubu, he maintained that he acted on behalf of the President and under the oversight of the National Assembly.
“When you decide to probe the administrator, you’re invariably saying that you will be probing the President and the National Assembly,” Igbikiowubu told Frontline Reporters. “Such an enterprise amounts to a fool’s errand.”
Fubara Resumes, Calls for Prayers
Meanwhile, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who returned to office after the suspension of the emergency rule, has urged Rivers people to continue praying for peace and stability in the state.
Speaking at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Opobo Town, during a thanksgiving service, the governor said prayers had sustained him through the crisis and would remain vital as he rededicates himself to the service of the people
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2025-09-22
