Rivers State’s Administrator’s Concerning Executive Overreach

Rivers State’s sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, summoned the suspended governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, to appear before him on Friday, April 18, to shed light on some of the appointments he made as governor. President Bola Tinubu, in his appointment, framed Ibas’s role as limited, emphasizing that he could not enact laws but might create regulations subject to federal approval. Still, his many executive overreaches call for concern. There have been several. A critical flashpoint is Ibas’s replacement of all 23 local government administrators with Wike loyalists, despite a standing Supreme Court ruling mandating democratically elected local governments. This move, executed mere hours after a Federal High Court ordered Ibas to justify his authority to make such appointments, signals a blatant disregard for judicial authority. The new appointees, perceived as allies of Wike, have fueled suspicions that the emergency rule is a pretext to dismantle opposition structures and secure control over local governance—a longstanding battleground in Wike’s political conflicts.

Further consolidating administrative control, Ibas reconstituted the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and the Local Government Service Commission, installing close Wike associates, including Dr. Michael Odey as RSIEC chairman. These commissions, pivotal in overseeing local elections and governance, now operate under figures aligned with Wike’s camp, effectively sidelining the suspended elected government. Additionally, Ibas’ preparation of a state budget—a constitutional responsibility of the governor and legislature—and unilateral spending of funds without legislative oversight have drawn condemnation. Such actions exceed the bounds of temporary administration, resembling a parallel government.

On March 18, 2025, President Tinubu suspended Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and the Rivers State House of Assembly, appointing Ibas as a caretaker administrator. However, Ibas’ swift and sweeping actions—including dismissing prior appointees, halting contracts, and appointing a new Secretary to the State Government—have starkly contradicted this restrained mandate, sparking allegations of executive overreach.

These actions pushed the House of Representatives to summon him to appear before its committee for an interactive session on Thursday, April 17th. 

While he prepared for the interactive session, 11 PDP governors are suing the President and the National Assembly before the Supreme Court, challenging the President’s powers to declare an emergency rule and suspend elected officials in a state. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has begun drafting President Bola Tinubu’s response to the lawsuit filed by governors from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which challenges the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State.

In preparation for the legal showdown at the Supreme Court, the PDP governors assembled a legal team comprising 11 Senior Advocates of Nigeria and six additional lawyers. They aim to contest the extent of the President’s powers to declare a state of emergency and suspend a democratically elected state institution.

The 11 states whose governors instituted the suit are Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa.

The governors in the suit marked SC/CV/329/2025, among others, asked the Supreme Court to determine “Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of the provisions of Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188 and 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can lawfully suspend or in any manner whatsoever interfere with the offices of a Governor and the Deputy Governor of any of the component 36 States of the Federation of Nigeria and replace same with his own unelected nominee as a Sole Administrator, under the guise of, or pursuant to, a Proclamation of a State of Emergency in any of the State of the Federation, particularly in any of the Plaintiffs States”

The Supreme Court has yet to schedule a date for the hearing.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) actions as sole administrator of Rivers State, accusing him of undermining democratic institutions and processes.

The NBA stated that Ibas has been operating in defiance of constitutional provisions and pending court proceedings. As a form of protest against the imposition of emergency rule in the state, the Association has decided to relocate its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to Enugu State.

The sole administrator’s aggressive actions in Rivers State risk crippling governance long-term. Though temporary, his systemic changes embed political bias and create parallel structures that clash with constitutional norms. When the elected governor returns, reversing these moves will demand protracted legal battles, budgetary revisions, and bureaucratic overhauls, diverting focus from governance and development. 

Moreover, hurriedly imposed policies—like unapproved budgets and unilateral contracts—may leave financial discrepancies or half-executed projects, complicating accountability. The administrator’s defiance of court orders also sets a dangerous precedent, eroding public trust in democracy and incentivizing future federal overreach. President Tinubu’s State of Emergency weaponizes “temporary” actions to sabotage state autonomy, forcing elected leaders to waste time undoing partisan sabotage rather than governing. For Rivers, this risks entrenched instability, with the administrator’s shadow governance undermining the very democracy emergency powers claim to protect.