President Bola Tinubu & Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd.)

The Federal Government has confirmed that Rivers State’s allocation will be disbursed to the newly appointed Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd.).

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed this on Wednesday while addressing State House correspondents in Abuja.

Fagbemi defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers, stating that it was a necessary step to prevent the state’s governance from collapsing. He also emphasized that the crisis did not implicate former Governor and current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

When asked whether the federal government would release the state’s allocation despite the emergency rule, Fagbemi affirmed that funds would be made available upon request by the administrator.

“It would be appropriate to release the funds because the extraordinary situation has taken Rivers out of the normal governance structure,” he explained.

Justifying Tinubu’s decision, Fagbemi added, “The President intervened at the right time. Would it have been better to wait until everything was destroyed? Certainly not. He gave all parties an opportunity to reconcile, even mediating between them before taking this step.”

President Tinubu had, on Tuesday, declared emergency rule in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the State House of Assembly for an initial six-month period.

Citing prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats, Tinubu argued that the decision was necessary to restore order. He appointed Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff, as the state’s sole administrator until normalcy returns.

In his national address, Tinubu stated, “After careful evaluation of the situation in Rivers State and given that the Governor and Deputy Governor failed to request my intervention as required under Section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), I am invoking Section 305 to declare a state of emergency effective March 18, 2025.

“By this declaration, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.

“To ensure the continued administration of the state, I hereby appoint Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.) as the Administrator. However, this does not affect the judicial arm of government, which shall continue to function as mandated by the Constitution.”

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