Reps postpone meeting with Rivers sole administrator Ibas indefinitely

The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on Rivers State oversight has postponed indefinitely its meeting with the state’s Sole Administrator, Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas.

Recall that the committee had earlier invited Ibas for a comprehensive engagement on his activities in Rivers after the declaration of emergency rule by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The indefinite postponement of the meeting is contained in a statement issued by House Spokesperson, Rep. Akin Rotimi, in Abuja on Thursday.

Rotimi said that the committee acknowledged the request for postponement made the sole administrator and was currently working to fix a new date for the interactive session.

“In the spirit of transparent and effective oversight, the committee will promptly inform the public once the rescheduled date is confirmed,” Rotimi said.

NAN reports that the house had on Tuesday constituted the 21-member ad hoc committee headed by Rep. Julius Ihonvbere to oversee the emergency rule in Rivers.

On March 18, 2025, President Bola Tinubu imposed an emergency rule on oil-rich Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara; his deputy Ngozi Odu; and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months.

The President immediately nominated Ibas as administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the first six months.

The President relied on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to make the proclamation. The section interprets a state of emergency as a situation of national danger, disaster or terrorist attacks in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures to regain control.

In about 48 hours, the National Assembly ratified the president’s emergency rule decision despite stiff opposition to the move.

The suspension of Fubara and other democratically elected representatives was expressly rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, and groups including a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, and a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

Others are the founder of Stanbic IBTC bank, Atedo Peterside; a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; a senior advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana; the LP, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Nigerian Bar Association, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), among others.

The last time a president declared an emergency rule in Nigeria was on May 14, 2013, when Goodluck Jonathan imposed it on the entire northeast insurgent-ridden states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.