, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, has approved the appointment of administrators to oversee all 23 Local Government Areas in the state.){kind=link}
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, has approved the appointment of administrators to oversee all 23 Local Government Areas in the state.
This development comes shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt reportedly issued a restraining order against the move.
The court order, delivered on Tuesday by Justice Adam Muhammed, followed a suit marked FHC/PH/CS/46/2025 filed by PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Msirimovu, challenging Ibas in his official role.
Despite the court’s directive, Ibas has also given approval for the reconstitution of several boards overseeing state agencies, commissions, and parastatals that had previously been suspended.
The announcement was made public in a Special Government Announcement released on Wednesday morning by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibibia Worika.
Although the names of the newly appointed administrators were not disclosed, the statement noted that the appointments take effect immediately, beginning from Monday, April 7, 2025.
According to the statement: “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.”
Last week, Ibas had suspended the leadership of all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state with immediate effect. In a separate move, he also nullified all ongoing procurement and tendering processes conducted by these MDAs.
He explained that the action was in line with a Supreme Court ruling and the absence of a valid appropriation law during the period in question.
In a previous statement, also issued by the SSG, the sole administrator instructed that all MDAs involved in such procurement processes must refund any fees collected from contractors without delay.