It was a shameful end of the six months tour of duty of the sole administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas as security operatives and officers attached to the government house protested against him for alleged unfair treatment as captured in a viral video.
The aggrieved security aides who complained of “hardship and abandonment”, were hollering “We are not doing again, we are tired. Hard labour, suffering. For what”.
Calling out Ibas, the protesters alleged that he was attempting to sneak away with the state’s wealth while abandoning them to fate.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that President Bola Tinubu had on Wednesday terminated emergency rule in the state imposed on March 18, 2025, and directed the return of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and the members of the state House of Assembly.
Sources say the protesting security personnel were agitated that with the resumption of Fubara, their entitlements would not be paid.
In his reflection at a thanksging service to mark the end of his assignment, Ibas said: “By God’s grace and with the support of Mr. President and all of you, we have worked through those difficult days together. Today, we thank God for peace, stability, and the successful conduct of local government elections across the state.”
And last week while receiving the comprehensive report of the controversial local government election from the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) headed by his Cross River State kinsman, Ibas stated gleefully that the emergency mandate given to him had been “sufficiently achieved” following the conclusion of local government elections and the swearing-in of elected officials across the state.
According to him, “Mr. President’s mandate to me was clear: stabilise the state, re-establish its institutions, and return Rivers State to full democratic governance. With the successful conduct and inauguration of local government councils, we have decisively delivered on that mandate”.
Some stakeholders in the state are however demanding an account of his stewardship and calling for probe of how he administered the state’ resources in his six months tour of duty.
