Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has approved the appointment of administrators for all 23 Local Government Areas in the state, despite a Federal High Court order that restrained him from making such appointments just 24 hours earlier. The court issued the order on Tuesday, following a suit filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Msirimovu, against Ibas in his official capacity. The case was heard by Justice Adam Muhammed in suit no. FHC/PH/CS/46/2025.
Despite the court's ruling, Ibas went ahead with the appointments and also approved the reconstitution of various boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals that had previously been suspended. The announcement was made on Wednesday morning through a special statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika.
The names of the newly appointed administrators were not disclosed, but the statement confirmed that the appointments took effect immediately. The announcement read, “His Excellency, the Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas CFR, has approved the appointments of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State. He has also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals, earlier suspended. All appointments take effect from Monday, April 7, 2025.”
In a related development, Ibas also issued a directive to cancel all pending procurement and tender processes conducted by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state. He explained that this decision was prompted by the Supreme Court judgment and the absence of an appropriation law during the period. Additionally, the Sole Administrator instructed that any fees collected for such processes be refunded to the contractors immediately.
Last week, Ibas had suspended all heads of MDAs in the state with immediate effect, further consolidating his authority in the state's administration.
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