The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retired), has officially appointed administrators to oversee all 23 Local Government Areas in the state. This announcement was made public less than a day after a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt reportedly issued a ruling to prevent him from doing exactly that.
The legal order was given on Tuesday by Justice Adam Muhammed in case number FHC/PH/CS/46/2025. The suit was filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Msirimovu. The case challenged Ibas in his capacity as the state’s sole administrator and sought to halt his move to install LGA administrators.
Despite the court’s directive, the Rivers State Government proceeded with the appointments. The confirmation came in a Special Government Announcement released early Wednesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibibia Worika.
The announcement stated, “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, the 7th of April 2025.”
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This development follows a series of actions taken by Ibas since assuming office. Just last week, he directed the immediate suspension of all heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state. In another significant move, he also called off all ongoing procurement and tender activities carried out by these MDAs.
The reason for these cancellations, according to an earlier government statement, was due to the lack of a valid appropriation law during the transition period and recent Supreme Court rulings. Ibas reportedly instructed MDAs involved in the halted tenders to refund all related fees to the contractors concerned.
