A potential clash is brewing between the National Assembly and the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ekwe Ibas, over alleged overreach by the retired Chief of Naval Staff.
This development coincides with a petition from the Institute of Law Research and Development of the United Nations (ILAWDUN), based in Washington D.C., to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, demanding the reinstatement of suspended Governor Siminalayi Joseph Fubara.
President Tinubu, on March 18, 2025, declared a six-month State of Emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly, subsequently appointing Vice Admiral Ibas as Sole Administrator.
Recent actions by the Sole Administrator, including the announcement of a proposed 2025 appropriation bill focused on healthcare, education, agriculture, and infrastructure, have drawn sharp criticism from the National Assembly.
During a meeting with a pro-Wike delegation at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Ibas stated the budget aimed to create jobs and advance technology in public services, citing the need for a new budget following a Supreme Court ruling.
For instance, the Senate has alleged that its approval of the emergency rule provisions on Rivers State has been grossly manipulated and tampered with to suit a particular purpose.
Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the spokesperson for the Senate, said in his hometown, Ilawe, Ekiti, over the weekend that their original intentment for the state of emergency was for the six months earlier proposed by Tinubu to be reduced to make for good governance in the state.
He said there were clauses in the proclamation, allowing the National Assembly to play its oversight functions of the emergency rule but were not being followed.
In addition, Senator Adaramodu explained that they did not just rubber-stamp the executive proposal, but they made modifications to include appropriations and governance.
Similarly, the National Assembly proposed the constitution of a committee to mediate among erring factors in Rivers with a view to the maintenance of peace and stability while also monitoring the sole administrator of the state.
However, the House of Representatives contends that budgeting and lawmaking fall outside the Sole Administrator’s mandate, accusing him of usurping their legislative oversight.
House Deputy Spokesperson, Philip Agbese, asserted that Speaker Tajudeen Abbas is consulting with House leadership to establish a committee to monitor Ibas’s activities. Agbese emphasized that Ibas lacks the authority to legislate, and the House is prepared to take “necessary steps,” including a vote of no confidence, to ensure adherence to the rule of law.
Concerns also persist among Rivers State residents regarding the Sole Administrator’s suspension of democratic institutions, with fears that he intends to replace Fubara’s loyalists with allies of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Meanwhile, Prof. Cyprian Edward Ekpo, Director of ILAWDUN, has penned an open letter to President Tinubu, calling for the immediate reversal of the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the state legislature.
Ekpo, a professor of International Environmental and Public International Law, urged Tinubu to act before the Supreme Court hears a suit filed by seven opposition governors challenging the constitutionality of the suspensions and the appointment of the Sole Administrator.
Ekpo expressed shock and disappointment at Tinubu’s reliance on “frivolous and corrupt motives,” such as a misinterpretation of a Supreme Court ruling and unverified claims of oil pipeline vandalism, to justify the State of Emergency. He argued that a swift reversal would reaffirm Tinubu’s commitment to democracy and urged him to “write his name on letters of gold” by correcting the situation without waiting for a Supreme Court verdict.
