Celestine Akpobari Declares End of Ibas’s Job as Rivers Sole Administrator

|By Adejumo Adekunle-

-Activist Declares End of Ibas’s Role After Rivers Political Truce
–Urges Tinubu to Lift Emergency Rule, Restore Governor Fubara Immediately

Rights activist Celestine Akpobari has declared that Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) no longer has a job in Rivers State following the recent political reconciliation between Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his predecessor Nyesom Wike, and members of the State House of Assembly.

Speaking on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television programme on Monday, Akpobari stated that the emergency administration under Ibas had outlived its purpose and must be dissolved now that peace has returned to the state.

“The job of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator of Rivers State is over,” Akpobari declared.

Akpobari, a member of the Governing Council of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), also issued a stern warning to Ibas, cautioning him not to tamper with the N1.49 trillion 2025 Rivers State Appropriation Bill recently approved by the Nigerian Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

“He must not touch that budget. That is a constitutional document passed for the governance of Rivers State, and only the legitimate governor can administer it,” he warned.

Akpobari further called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately lift the state of emergency imposed in March and reinstate Governor Fubara, asserting that the reconciliation has rendered the emergency rule obsolete.

“There is no longer any crisis. The warring parties have sheathed their swords. The president must act swiftly and return governance to the rightful hands,” he said.

President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in Rivers State in March 2025, appointing Ibas as Sole Administrator after suspending Governor Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing escalating political tensions. The development sparked widespread national debate, with several stakeholders calling for a democratic resolution.

With peace now reportedly restored, public pressure is mounting on the federal government to revert control back to constitutional authorities and end military-style governance in the oil-rich state.