Tinubu has appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas as Rivers State Administrator.
GoldenNewsNg had reported earlier that President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, south-south Nigeria.
President Tinubu announced in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday evening, March 18, 2025, over the political crisis and instability in the state.
The president said Siminalayi Fubara, governor of the State; his deputy, Ngozi Odu; and all members of the Rivers assembly are “hereby suspended for an initial period of six months”.
“Having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do,” the president said.
A few minutes after the President declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, he nominated retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, a former chief of naval staff, as the administrator of Rivers State.
This online news platform understands that Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas will be responsible for overseeing the affairs of Rivers State for at least six months.
The President said the administrator will manage the state without enacting new laws but may issue regulations subject to federal executive council approval and presidential promulgation.
President Tinubu said the judicial arm of Rivers State remains unaffected and will continue its constitutional duties.
The president said his intervention, published in the federal gazette and shared with the national assembly, seeks to restore peace and order in the troubled state.
“The administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the president for the state,” the president said in a televised broadcast.
“This declaration has been published in the federal gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the constitution.
“It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.”
Meanwhile, Newsone reports that the new Rivers administrator served as chief of naval staff from 2015 to 2021. He also served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Ghana
