The sole administrator’s body language has drawn criticism from certain political activists in Rivers State who believe it might be a sign that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is prolonging the state’s state of emergency.
They do, however, believe that there is no justification for extending the state’s emergency rule, which they have described as calm even before the president’s announcement.
Activists and political analysts who talked to The Intercept urge the President to immediately halt the proclamation, claiming that certain politicians even deceived him into making it.
reported that President Bola Tinubu has in a countrywide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 announced a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The president claimed he was “greatly disturbed about the political crisis” in the state and accused Governor Siminilayi Fubara of wrecking the State House of Assembly structure.
After assessing the circumstances, Tinubu announced he had made the decision to “declare a state of emergency from March 18.”
Additionally, he appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas, Rtd, as Administrator to oversee state activities and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and Ngozi Odu, all elected members of the State House of Assembly.
Upon assumption of office, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, on April 9, 2025, nominated administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, as the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika announced in a Special Government Announcement
President Tinubu wrote to the National Assembly last week to request that the 2025 budget of the Rivers State Government be reviewed and approved in the absence of the suspended Rivers House of Assembly.
According to Tinubu, the National Assembly is being presented with the N1.481 trillion budget.
According to the President, this is because the state is currently under emergency rule and the Supreme Court declared the state’s 2025 budget to be invalid.
Upon assumption of office, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, on April 9, 2025, nominated administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, as the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika announced in a Special Government Announcement
President Tinubu wrote to the National Assembly last week to request that the 2025 budget of the Rivers State Government be reviewed and approved in the absence of the suspended Rivers House of Assembly.
According to Tinubu, the National Assembly is being presented with the N1.481 trillion budget.
According to the President, this is because the state is currently under emergency rule and the Supreme Court declared the state’s 2025 budget to be invalid.
This was as she said, Ibas’s actions in the state were contrary to what the president sent him to do.
According to the activist, “…he [Ibas] has removed people who were constitutionally and democratically in governance,” talking about the Local Government Chairman who was suspended by the Sole administrator.
“There were no issues, and he came along and removed everybody.
“Even in the government house, it is alleged that he has removed the pictures of Siminalayi Fubara. I repeat Siminalayi Fubara remains the governor of Rivers State,” Ann-Kio Briggs said.
Additionally, Prince Uche Secondus, a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has stated that Ibas’ activities have put the state on a keg of explosives.
Additionally, he begged President Tinubu to disregard what he called a mistaken recommendation and reinstate Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who is mandated by the people.
He declared, “The President should restore Governor Similaya Fubara, who has the people’s mandate, in order to follow the voice of reason.”
“The Sole Administrator’s activities have set Rivers State on a keg of gunpowder, and I weep for my state.
“Sadly Rivers State has found itself on the ugly side of history over the control of Resources and the state by one man.”
Ibas appointed sole administrators for the 23 Local Governments in the state, in violation of the Port Harcourt Federal High Court’s decision.
In order to do this, he appointed individuals who have been referred to as “Wike’s boys” to oversee the operations of the LGAs and suspended all democratically elected LG chairmen for six months.
Among other things, Ibas had authorised the reorganisation of the electoral body and disbanded the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, or RSIEC.
In addition to Professor (Dame) Joyce Akaninwor, Professor (Mrs.) Olive A. Bruce, Professor Chidi Halliday, Professor Lezaasi Lenee Torbira, Professor (Dr.) Arthur Nwafor and Professor Godfrey Woke Mbgudiogha he announced the appointment of Michael Odey as the new Chairman.
It is said that every member is devoted to the Federal Capital Territory’s Minister.
Considering all of this, Chizy Enyi, a political activist, lawyer, and leader of the All Progressives Congress from Port Harcourt, stated that he does not anticipate the restoration of democratic governance in Rivers State anytime soon.
He stated that, contrary to what has been claimed, there was no sign that the president would reinstate the governor during his countrywide broadcast on May 29.
Mr. Enyi stated in an interview with The Intercept that “I think those people who are claiming that there is a chance of shortening the governor’s six-month suspension must be daydreaming.”
“Assuming the president wants that, from today and May 29 that he will address the nation in less than one week, what is the essence of transmitting [Rivers State] budget to the National Assembly?
“Of what essence is it? If he lifts the suspension, the job of the National Assembly to take over the affairs of the Rivers State House of assembly will die down, and then that means that the budget before them will also die. All actions will die down.
“So presenting the appropriation bill of one point something trillion Naira to the National Assembly is evidence that the President is not ready for democratic rule to return to Rivers State.
“Anybody believing that the President will cut short the emergency rule in Rivers State, my dear brother, it is no no thing.
“But history will always repeat itself. We’ll always remember President Tinubu that he sent us too backward and when he was president, this is the extent he has done havoc in the River State.
“As we see currently, everything has been almost suspended because all the contractors have left the sights, including the most used company, Julius Berger has left the sights particularly the Omoku road, Port Harcourt Ring Road, Emehua Rd, and Ogbakiri Road.
“The company working on the Kalabari road has left the site, which one will we mention? Everything about construction has died down.
“And in fact, since there is no more democracy, there is also no more development in Rivers State and Mr President is happy. Do you know the irony of this, Mr President has stayed in office for about two years now he has not visited Rivers state.
“Why then do we talk of such a person to help us to make progress? Even during his campaign, when he was consulting delegates in the APC, he never deemed it necessary to visit Rivers State.
“Rivers wasn’t part of the states he consulted the delegates during his primary. So he has no reason to even have us as one of the states he will help. So that is it.
“If the President is interested in democratic rule in River State, he has seen that the problem in the state is Wike vs the Governor, and Wike is his personal appointee, if he directs Wike to go and make peace, or he’ll be sacked, the man will have no option.
“Imagine the two gladiators fighting, his minister and the democratically elected Governor of the state and he suspended the governor, leaving his minister. It shows that he really has the minister as his own person, undermining all the democratic structures in Rivers, hence the illegal state of emergency.
“Now, assuming he was also suspended as a minister, Rivers people would have been looking at it from the way of ‘okay, he has refused to favour anybody, even though he knows that his actions are illegal.
“Because when we talked about the suspension of the governor, they said he averted the doomsday, how? The Constitution didn’t anticipate averting the doomsday. The Constitution says, allow the doomsday to come. That is the basis in which action should be taken.”
According to Rivers State APC Spokesperson Darlington Nwauju, the emergency rule and Governor Fubara’s suspension will go longer than the six months the president had specified.
According to the APC leader, Mr. Nwauju foresaw that the emergency rule will be prolonged since the sole administrator wanted to remain longer, as seen by his behaviours and body language.
He claims that as of right now, Rivers State has not achieved the goal of imposing a state of emergency, which is essentially to bring peace back to the state.
“Well, for me, once, we must understand that for every decision that is taken, there is what we call the manifest and the contextual reasons behind such decisions.
“I would agree that there was a Supreme Court decision on 28 February.
“Now as a fallout from that, one of the objectives for directing a state of emergency and a Sole administrator was to allow for all the worrying parties or factions to sheath swords.
“As of today, I cannot say for sure that peace has been restored. I cannot also say for sure that the warring factions have reached an amicable solution or resolution to all the issues, all the points of their grievances.
“Now, I must also point out the fact that in the course of this crisis, Rivers people, and indeed, Nigerians, have not been told in specific terms by both the elected Governor of the State, Sim Fubara and the FCT Minister what the actual [problem] is.
“The other man is saying that nobody should tamper with the structures, and we do not know what the structures are, because we know that in politics, political structures are merely party executives and all that and all that…
“However, we suspect that this whole structure change and this whole argument over political capture of Rivers State by the FCT Minister have everything to do with the resources of the Rivers state.
“Unfortunately, the man who has the mandate of the people of Rivers state to protect the resources of River State and his people has not also told us what the actual challenge is.
“It has only been the people bursting into the air trying to defend democratic structure of Rivers State.
“So far, I will not be able to do much about what is happening because one of the parties involved in this matter is choosing to keep a tight lip.
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“He is rather choosing to swallow whatever that is being presented to him. So the question that an ordinary man on the street is now asking is, why must we now start crying more than the bereaved?
“Because the man who was given the mandate to protect the resources has himself not told us what the actual issues are.
“Why must Rivers State now find itself in this quagmire which I perceive is ready to take beyond the six months mandate.
“I want to predict that the body language of the Sole administrator is and even his comments and all the attributions to him…gives him a way, as a man who is actually bending towards being beyond the six months period.
“This is based on the interplay of forces on ground in Rivers State, because the president cannot even do much if what is on ground tells him that all is now well in this state, and the people are ready to move away from the season of emergency rule, he [the President] would have no other option than to restore the democratic instructure.
“But I am saying that the interplay of forces, what is happening in Rivers state, it seems to me that the Sole administrator is bending, and if you like to go spiritual about it, is praying to stay beyond six months in the Government House of Rivers State.
“But it is only when the forces on the ground, the political actors allow or permit or create the room for the emergency rule to be extended beyond six months, then we would see such an extended intervention.
“But when and if those on ground, the major political actors, have decided to sheath their sword and drop their ego because what I see is more like an ego business if you listen to their conversations.
“If you listen to the interviews of some of the actors, some of the people following Nyesom Wike, you agree with me, you will read in between the lines. You will see the devil in the details that all is not yet well.
“And if there is such a situation that gives room for an extension of the state of emergency, then on the balance of probability, I will not be surprised if this goes beyond the six months period,” he told The Intercept
The APC chieftains, however, said that it would be for the best interest of democracy for the political actors to know that it should always be about the people and not about a set or class of individuals or the elite.
