The immediate past Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), and the Rivers State House of Assembly may be heading for a clash following the lawmakers’ decision to probe government spending during his six-month tenure, The PUNCH reports.
Ibas ceased to be the administrator of the oil-rich state on September 17, marking the end of the emergency rule, after President Bola Tinubu directed suspended state governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly to return to office from the previous Thursday.
During its first plenary after the end of emergency rule, the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, resolved to investigate the state’s expenditure under Ibas.
According to the Assembly’s resolution: “To explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule with regard to spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditure.”
Findings by The PUNCH revealed that Rivers State received at least N254.37bn from the Federation Account Allocation Committee between March and August 2025 under Ibas’s tenure as sole administrator. A breakdown showed that the 13 per cent oil derivation remained the state’s largest single source of income, with N133.24bn received between March and August—about 52.4 per cent of total FAAC allocations.
Ibas Pushes Back
Reacting to the lawmakers’ decision, Ibas said the House lacked the power to investigate him since they did not appoint him as the state’s administrator.
Speaking through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubu, on Sunday, Ibas suggested that the Assembly was merely trying to reassert itself after being sidelined during the emergency period.
“When you say they were going to probe the tenure of the administrator, was it the Assembly that appointed the administrator? You see, the point to note is that commentary is free. You can’t stop people from running commentary. The House of Assembly has been on break for a very long time, and you will appreciate that they have not been able to discharge their functions for such a long time,” Igbikiowubu told The PUNCH.
“Now that they have resumed, they have to make an effort to carry out their functions. So, it will seem their right to probe what has gone wrong in the state. Nobody can stop the lawmakers from carrying out a probe of what they perceive to be their functions within the state. But like I asked earlier, were they the ones that appointed the administrator? So, if you didn’t appoint the administrator, it goes to reason that you have certain limitations.”
Igbikiowubu further stressed that Ibas acted on behalf of the President and under the supervision of the National Assembly.
“When you also realise that the administrator was appointed by the President, it goes without reason that the administrator acted for and on behalf of the President. When you also reason that the administrator was supervised by the National Assembly, it goes without reason that when you decide to probe the administrator, you’re invariably saying that you will be probing the administrator and the National Assembly.”
He concluded: “So, I wish them good luck with their plan and their probe. But you and I know that such an enterprise amounts to a fool’s errand.”
