Ibas Charges 23 Local Government Administrators on Financial Prudence

*Bode George attacks Rivers sole administrator on appointments, women protest

Chuks Okocha and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral, Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) has charged the newly appointed Administrators of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to be prudent in their financial dealings.
Ibas, gave the charge yesterday when he had a meeting with the appointed administrators for the 23 LGAs in Port Harcourt.

However, ripples of the appointments continued yesterday, as a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, tackled Ibas, describing the appointments as illegal and potentially regrettable.

This was as hundreds of Women in Rivers State, yesterday, protested in the major streets of Port Harcourt, demanding restoration of democratic leadership in the State.
 The women who were carrying placards in their black attires protested along the major Aba Road. They rejected the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu, following a political crisis between the Executive and Legislative arms of the State.

But during the meeting with the LGA administrators, Ibas charged them to prioritise the well-being of the people and work assiduously to ensure that the benefits of good governance in the promotion of trust, sustainable development and peace are felt adequately.

He told them that he served Nigeria for over 40 years with an unblemished record of service in the military and diplomatic corps and was in retirement when the current appointment was made.
Ibas said he accepted the offer to serve Nigeria and indeed Rivers people from a conviction that the best must always be given to ensure progress and achievement of the great potentials so cherished.

He said:” Since resuming this assignment, I have taken time to visit a few local government areas. Those visits have accorded me the opportunity to interact with local government civil servants, and it is clear that I needed help with administering the entire State, which I am responsible for following Mr. President’s proclamation.
“And so I went about trying to identify a few individuals from which on the 7th of April 2025, I selected those seated here today as administrators of the 23 Local Government Areas.”

Ibas urged them to focus on issues of sanitation and environment management, primary healthcare, welfare and discipline of local government civil servants, primary education, and youth engagement, which will be used to access their performances in the coming weeks.

“Your selection to the important office is not by chance but a recognition of your capacity to lead, your commitment to service, and the trust reposed in you to bring governance closer to the people.
“Therefore, you bear the sacred responsibility, a duty to ensure that affairs of your respective councils are managed with the utmost care, respect, and unwavering dedication to the welfare of our people,” he added.

Meanwhile, George, has cautioned the sole administrator over the appointments and the reconstitution of boards in the state, describing them as illegal and potentially regrettable.
George issued the warning yesterday in a strongly worded statement, urging Ibas to respect the Constitution and the rule of law.

He criticised the administrator’s decision to appoint officials to oversee the 23 local government areas and restructure state boards, despite a standing court order prohibiting such actions.
Justice Adamu Turaki Muhammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had previously barred Ibas from appointing sole administrators for the local councils. However, Ibas went ahead to make the appointments and reconstitute boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals.

Reacting to the development, George stated: “I want to warn Admiral Ibas: if you act against the spirit of the Constitution, you will be held responsible. Your appointment is for just six months. Even if the President extends it, you will still leave one day—because nobody elected you. Your position as Sole Administrator is not legally recognised.”

George emphasised that Siminalayi Fubara remains the duly elected governor of Rivers State, questioning Ibas’ authority to make far-reaching political appointments.

“What happens to those appointments when you leave office on September 18? Why are you flouting a valid court order? Did you receive approval from the National Assembly to reconstitute the boards? Do you now wield both executive and legislative powers in Rivers State?” he asked.

The PDP chieftain warned that Ibas risks being abandoned by those currently backing him.

“You have no legal right to appoint anyone. This is not a military regime. The Constitution is still in force. Those using you now will throw you under the bus once you leave office,” he said.

Speaking as a fellow military veteran, George appealed to Ibas’ sense of duty and legacy.

“You behaved honourably as a Naval officer. Don’t let unconstitutional actions stain your record. You did not drown in the Navy—don’t let politics drown you legally and politically. Now is the time to apply the brakes.”

In the meantime, the aggrieved women said that “This imposition is not driven by any genuine threat to national security but is clearly a politically motivated manoeuvre aimed at subjugating our people and undermining our constitutional democracy.”

Dr. Nancy Chidi Nwankwo who spoke on behalf of the women, alleged that the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibas, “is a glaring indicator of this political conquest. His actions, which go far beyond the limited powers of a placeholder, betray the impartiality expected of his office and reveal the real intention behind this emergency rule, a calculated power grab under the guise of national interest.”

She regretted that the federal authorities in Abuja, relying on “conjecture and manufactured narratives, would choose to descend with the full weight of force on Rivers State, deploying a sledgehammer to kill a fly, while ignoring the dire security emergencies ravaging states such as Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Plateau, and Benue.”

Nwankwo stated that the President Tinubu should have proffered a solution or declared a state of emergency in the states where terrorists have overrun entire communities, taken control of local governments, and brutally murdered thousands of innocent citizens, than announcing emergency rule in a peaceful state despite the political crisis.

The women continued that “If the National Assembly’s intention was truly to prevent a breakdown of law and order in Rivers State, a state that has remained relatively peaceful and has recorded no fatal incident, why has it failed to take even more decisive action in states where chaos and bloodshed are daily occurrences?

The women expressed that the alleged unconstitutional and provocative actions of the Sole Administrator further expose the underlying political agenda at play, adding that “What we are witnessing is not governance, it is occupation. Not democracy, but autocracy.

“Today, Rivers people, especially women, are outraged by what is fast becoming a dual system of laws in Nigeria, one for other states, and another, unjust and repressive, for Rivers State. We reject this blatant political invasion and the imposition of emergency rule in its entirety.”

The women who are mainly mothers appealled to President Tinubu, for the immediate reinstatement of all democratic institutions in the state, including the return of the suspended Governor Fubara.

They also demanded “an end to this unconstitutional military rule in Rivers State, masked as a state of emergency. It is unjustified, uncalled for, and unacceptable.”

The women further call on “respected Nigerians including former Presidents General Abdulsalami Abubakar, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, as well as distinguished diplomats such as Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Prof. Tanko Yakassai, Dr. Godknows Igali, Chief Victor Attah, and Senator David Mark, to urgently intervene and prevail upon President Tinubu to reverse this injustice and restore full democratic governance in Rivers State.”

Assuring that they will no longer remain silent “in the face of intimidation, repression, and disenfranchisement”, the women said they will continue the peaceful protest and demand their right to freedom, justice, and self-determination.

They however, stated that “there is no credible security threat in Rivers State to justify this state of emergency. The narrative being peddled is entirely fictitious, crafted to validate a political takeover.

“Rivers State is the heart of the Niger Delta, a region of immense national significance. Peace has prevailed in our communities. We will not allow anyone to steal our voices or subvert our will. Democracy must be restored,” the women added.