President Bola Tinubu has sworn in former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd) as the sole administrator of Rivers State.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other aides of the President witnessed the short ceremony at the State House on Wednesday.
Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday, March 18, citing the protracted political impasse between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly members.
Tinubu said the state’s security situation and political tension necessitated his intervention to forestall a total breakdown of law and order.
Ibas was born on September 27, 1960.
He was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Nigerian Navy in 1983 and held various command positions until President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him Chief of Naval Staff in August 2015. He had the position until 2021.
After his retirement, former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, where he served between 2021 and 2023.
Meanwhile, some elders in Rivers have opposed the declaration of state of emergency in the state, arguing that the decision was made hastily and is not a viable solution to restore normalcy.
High Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, a chieftain of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, disagreed with the president’s action on the emergency rule.
He stated that all avenues for mediation should have been exhausted before resorting to emergency rule.
“President Tinubu’s invocation of Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution at this time is inappropriate.
“The president claims to have declared a state of emergency to restore peace, but the real question is: why is the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, the key figure in the crisis, not suspended,” he asked.
Sara-Igbe said that it was unconstitutional to suspend or remove elected officials from office. “Unlike in Sokoto, Borno, and other northern states, there is no war or loss of lives in Rivers that warrants the declaration of emergency rule in a peaceful state.’’
He, however, accused the President of not being sincere with the people of Rivers and had taken sides in the crisis through his actions and comments.
Mrs Ann-Kio Briggs, a prominent environmental and human rights activist, also decried Tinubu’s justification for the emergency declaration, particularly his claim that Fubara failed to brief him or condemn the pipeline explosions. She stated that Fubara had, on multiple occasions, informed the president of developments in the state.
“On March 11, PANDEF met with the president to brief him and seek his intervention; the group had also made efforts to mediate peace between Fubara and Wike.
“So, for President Tinubu to give the impression that no efforts were made to resolve the crises is misleading.
Briggs said that the president’s reference to pipeline attacks as a basis for the state emergency was not convincing since pipelines had been vandalised for decades in Niger Delta without such drastic measures being taken.
She acknowledged that while the President had the power to declare a state of emergency, he did not have the constitutional authority to suspend an elected governor.
“This decision is hasty, rash, and premeditated, posing a grave threat to the people of the state; it is a targeted plot against Gov. Fubara, it is unacceptable,” she said.
She also referenced Wike’s past remarks on national television, where he allegedly claimed to have the capacity to sabotage pipelines, and questioned why the minister was not suspended.
“Why wasn’t the minister suspended, considering he is a major player in the crises and the one the 27 lawmakers take instructions from,” Briggs asked.
On his part, Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2023 Rivers governorship election, blamed all political actors for the state of affairs in Rivers.
He described the emergency rule as a dark chapter in Rivers’ politics and an indictment on all involved.
According to him, the President intervened only after political leaders failed to resolve their differences amicably.
“Today is a dark day in Rivers politics; the President had no choice but to step in to address the situation.
“I believe the president made some attempts to resolve the issues, but he did not push hard enough to bring the matter to a peaceful conclusion end,” Cole remarked.
President Bola Tinubu and former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd) after the latter’s swearing in as the sole administrator of Rivers State.
