Dare Babalola
President Bola Tinubu has summoned the immediate past Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), to Aso Villa.
Ibas arrived at the presidential villa around 5:50 pm, accompanied by Minister of Finance Wale Edun and Ola Olukayede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The finance minister had earlier entered the villa but quickly left, only to return with a file in hand, signaling the seriousness of the meeting.
As the sole administrator, Ibas served for six months, overseeing Rivers State’s affairs from March to September 2025, when President Tinubu directed the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and state House of Assembly members to return to office.
During its first plenary session after the end of emergency rule, the Rivers State House of Assembly, chaired by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, stated that it would investigate the state’s expenditure during the six months of emergency rule.
According to the resolutions of the House, “To explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule with regard to spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditure.”
Ibas had rejected the decision to probe the state’s expenditure over the last few months under him.
Available records show that Rivers State received at least N254.37 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025, while Ibas was in office.
