Pitfalls of Appointing LG Administrators in Rivers

A recent report claiming that the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) was planning to appoint administrators to take charge of the 23 local government areas (LGAs) in the state has raised concerns on the commitment of Ibas and the presidency to maintain neutrality in the political crisis in the state.

Though neither the sole administrator nor the presidency confirmed the report, the allegation that most of the appointees are in the political camp of one of the feuding parties in the crisis has raised further apprehension in the state.

If this development is true, it will lend credence to the allegation that President Bola Tinubu declared the state of emergency to hand over power and political structure of the state to one of the feuding camps.

Many residents of the state who are clamouring for permanent peace would want the sole administrator to run the LGs with the neutral career public servants he met in office instead of appointing the loyalists of one of the two political camps in the state to run the councils.

Ibas has already directed the Heads of Local Government Administration (HLGAs), across the 23 LGAs of the state to submit reports on functions of the councils, the number of staff on the nominal roll, sources of revenue for the LGAs, and other relevant details, not later than last Wednesday.

Apart from violating the Supreme Court judgment, which prohibits the appointment of caretaker committees to run the LG councils in the country, appointing partisan persons to run the 23 councils in the state will plunge the state into crisis.

Already, a group, the Rivers Emancipation Movement, has vowed to take to the streets if Ibas appoints administrators to take charge of the 23 local government areas of the state.

The group, in an open letter addressed to Ibas and sent to journalists in Port Harcourt, last Monday, expressed worry over the plot to appoint administrators in the councils.

A civil society organisation, Pilex Centre, has also condemned the alleged plot to appoint administrators for the 23 LG councils in the state, describing the plot as “unconstitutional and a clear instance of illegality breeding illegality”.

For peace to reign in Rivers State, power should not be handed over to one of the warring camps through the backdoor.