The former Sole Administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas on Monday reacted to the planned probe of his six months administration of the state under emergency rule, brazenly telling members of the House of Assembly that he is not accountable to them because they did not appoint him.
Newsmata.com.ng (NM) reports that Ibas exited the state September 17, 2025, after President Bola Tinubu lifted the six months state of emergency imposed on the state on March 18, 2025, and restored the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, and the state lawmakers.
NM recalls that the House, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule had at its first plenary on resumption of legislative duties September 18, resolved to investigate financial transactions carried out during the period.
One of the motions adopted, among others, was the need to “Ascertain what transpired in the last six months with regards to award of contracts and expenditures from the consolidated revenue fund on the state”.
The lawmakers said, “We never sighted the budget by the National Assembly but only read it on the pages of Newspapers. We don’t know what it contained. No member of the House is against the motions; there is need to ascertain what came into Rivers State and expenditure by the Administrator”.
However, responding to the development in a press statement by his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubu, Ibas dismissed the resolution as a mere “commentary” which is free and wished them well in their probe.
The statement contended that since the administrator operated under the supervision of the National Assembly, (NASS) the lawmakers are invariably probing him and the NASS.
According to Igbikiowubu, “When you say they were going to probe the tenure of the administrator, was it the Assembly that appointed the administrator?
“You see, the point to note is that commentary is free. You can’t stop people from running commentary. The House of Assembly has been on break for a very long time, and you will appreciate that they have not been able to discharge their functions for such a long time.
“Now that they have resumed, they have to make an effort to carry out their functions. So, it will seem their right to probe what has gone wrong in the state. Nobody can stop the lawmakers from carrying out a probe of what they perceive to be their functions within the state.
“But like I asked earlier, were they the ones that appointed the administrator? So, if you didn’t appoint the administrator, it goes to reason that you have certain limitations. When you also realise that the administrator was appointed by the President, it goes without reason that the administrator acted for and on behalf of the President.”
“When you also reason that the administrator was supervised by the National Assembly, it goes without reason that when you decide to probe the administrator, you’re invariably saying that you will be probing the administrator and the National Assembly.
“So, I wish them good luck with their plan and their probe. But you and I know that such an enterprise amounts to a fool’s errand.”