Embattled Rivers Ex-administrator Ibas Visits Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu yesterday met with the immediate past Rivers State administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja .

The closed-door session came just hours after the President received Governor Sim Fubara, as the Rivers State House of Assembly moved to investigate financial dealings during the six months of emergency rule.

At its first sitting since the emergency rule expired, the Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, resolved to probe expenditures from the consolidated revenue fund during Ibas’s tenure as state administrator.

The lawmakers said they would scrutinise contracts awarded and funds spent under the emergency dispensation.

But Ibas dismissed the resolution as a political distraction, insisting lawmakers lacked the constitutional power to question him.

Speaking through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubu, the retired naval chief argued that since he was appointed by the President and supervised by the National Assembly, any probe of his actions would be tantamount to probing both institutions.

Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, following escalating political and security crises. He suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected lawmakers.

Ibas was appointed to oversee the state during the period, before handing back power after the expiration of the six-month emergency rule.