Korede Abdullah in Lagos
Despite a Federal High Court order restraining him, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has approved the appointment of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
The court, presided over by Justice Adam Muhammed, issued the injunction in Port Harcourt in suit No. FHC/PH/CS/46/2025, filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Msirimovu.
The ruling came just a day before Ibas proceeded with the appointments, effectively disregarding the legal directive.
In a Special Government Announcement issued Wednesday morning by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika, the appointments were confirmed and said to take “immediate effect.”
The statement read, “His Excellency, The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas CFR, has approved the appointments of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State. He has also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals, earlier suspended.”
Among the newly appointed administrators are Mr. Okroiyobi Animete for Abua/Odual LG, Mr. Goodluck M. Iheanacho for Ahoada East LG, and Mr. Promise Jacob for Ahoada West LG.
This development follows a wave of administrative changes since Ibas assumed office. Last week, he suspended all heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state and cancelled all pending procurement and tender processes.
According to an earlier statement from the SSG, Ibas ordered that “all MDAs that carried out such tender processes for projects in their respective offices refund such fees to the respective contractors immediately.”
He justified these sweeping changes by citing a recent Supreme Court judgment and the absence of an appropriation law.
