President Bola Tinubu has officially sworn in Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, in a shift in the governance of the oil-rich state.
The ceremony which held at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday afternoon, follows Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers, after a prolonged political crisis that led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial six-month period.
The appointment of Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff who served from 2015 to 2021, was announced during a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, where Tinubu cited Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution as the legal basis for his actions.
On Wednesday, Ibas met with Tinubu at the Presidential villa in Abuja.
After the meeting, he was sworn in by the President. Tinubu, in his speech, tasked Ibas with overseeing Rivers State’s affairs during the emergency period.
In a related development, the Federal Government has confirmed its readiness to release Rivers State’s withheld allocation from the federation account to the newly appointed administrator.
Addressing journalists at the Presidential Villa, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, affirmed that the funds would be made available upon Ibas’s request.
Fagbemi explained: “The extraordinary circumstances created by the state of emergency justify the release of these resources.”
