By Kolawole Ojebisi
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (rtd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
Ibas was sworn in as administrator following a short meeting with the president on Wednesday afternoon.
Tinubu announced the appointment of the retired naval chief at a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu; and the Rivers State House of Assembly members.
Tinubu hinged his decision on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, saying he can’t continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking any action.
The suspension of Fubara and other democratically elected legislators has been expressly rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, groups including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Nigerian Bar Association, among others.
However, the emergency rule has been praised by the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, accusing Fubara of contravening the Supreme Court ruling on the political situation in the state.
Ibas was the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021. He was born in Cross River where he is from and had his early education there.
The new sole administrator attended the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1979 from where he proceeded to have a successful career in the Navy, rising through the ranks to the very top.
He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management.
President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff conferred him with the National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2022. He also served as Nigeria’s Ambassador most recently.
