The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has issued a stern reminder to the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), to report directly to the National Assembly as constitutionally required.
This directive came on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State, a 21-member panel set up in response to the ongoing political crisis in the oil-rich state.
“It is paramount to note that the current administration in Rivers State is inherently temporary,” Speaker Abbas declared. “The administrator is required to operate with the highest levels of transparency and accountability, reporting directly to the National Assembly on all matters that pertain to the peace, order and good government of the state as prescribed by the constitution.”
The move follows President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers on March 18, 2025, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly after a prolonged political impasse.
Tinubu appointed Ibas as Sole Administrator, a decision ratified by both chambers of the National Assembly.
Speaker Abbas urged the newly inaugurated committee to maintain objectivity. “No room exists for bias or partisanship,” he warned.
Citing precedents in Plateau (2004), Ekiti (2006), and the 2013 emergency declarations in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, Abbas emphasized the legislature’s constitutional responsibility during crises.
“Our actions today are grounded in Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution, which confers upon us the authority to make laws for any state whose elected legislative body is unable to perform its statutory functions,” he said.
The Speaker called on the committee members to treat their appointment as a call to national service, with a clear mandate to ensure order and constitutional governance in Rivers State.