President Bola Tinubu has officially sworn in Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
Ibas took the oath of office following a brief meeting with the president on Wednesday afternoon.
Tinubu had announced the appointment of the retired naval chief in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State. During the broadcast, the president also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Tinubu justified his decision under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, stating that the escalating political situation in Rivers required immediate intervention.
The suspension of Fubara and other democratically elected officials has sparked widespread opposition from prominent Nigerians, legal experts, and various groups, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Nigerian Bar Association, all of whom have condemned the action.
On the other hand, the state of emergency has received support from the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly, led by Martins Amaewhule, who accused Fubara of violating a Supreme Court ruling on the political crisis in the state.
Vice Admiral Ibas, who served as the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021, hails from Cross River State. He received his early education there before attending the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1979, marking the start of a distinguished naval career that saw him rise to the rank of Chief of Naval Staff.
Ibas is a member of both the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management. In 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred upon him the National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).
