Following the end of emergency rule in Rivers State as declared by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, there are calls for the probe of the six-month tenure of the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd).
CKNNews recalls that with the state of emergency lifted, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly officially resumed office yesterday, Thursday.
It could be recalled that President Bola Tinubu on March 18, 2025, declared a state of emergency in the state, thereby suspending the governor, his deputy and all the state lawmakers for six months.
According to President Tinubu, the decision was prompted by a protracted political crisis that had threatened peace and security in the oil-rich state.
The political crisis was birthed by the face-off between Fubara and his predecessor, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, Nyesom Wike.
However, during the period of emergency rule, President Bola Tinubu brokered a truce between Governor Fubara and Wike.
With all the parties finally agreeing to bury the hatchet and all other hurdles crossed and the conduct of the August 30 local government election, Tinubu on Wednesday lifted the emergency rule.
While the State lawmakers resumed plenary on Thursday, Fubara is nowhere to be found as of the time of filing this report.
The suspension of the governor and the declaration of the state of emergency in the state had raised some dust with stakeholders antagonizing the move, saying the president has no power to suspend a democratically elected governor.
Some analysts also believed that the move was contrary to the requirements of Section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
The Senate’s approval for the emergency rule also fueled controversy with some stakeholders arguing that the essential requirement of a two-third majority of the 469 legislators of the National Assembly to approve a state of emergency was not followed.
Some lawyers argued that the Supreme Court of Nigeria hitherto held that voice-votes as used by the lawmakers are not acceptable as replacement whenever the constitution specifically provides for the two-third majority.
Similarly, leaders of the Ijaw Youth Council, Eastern Zone, on March 21, dragged the Federal Government before the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Court of Justice, over what they described as illegal suspension of the governor.
The 12 litigants, led by Comrade Ibiso Harry, equally challenged President Tinubu’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State.
Ibas at a Public Lecture titled ‘Good Governance and Democratic Dividends’ held in Port Harcourt on Tuesday said the nearly two years political crisis in the state has been successfully quelled.
He declared that “by the grace of God and with the cooperation of all stakeholders” stability has been restored to the state.
“When we began this assignment on March 18, 2025, our core mandate was to restore peace and stability. By the grace of God and with the cooperation of all stakeholders, we have come this far”, he stated, citing the conduct of the recently concluded Local Government elections.
Corroborating Ibas’s claim, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Ikenga Chibike said there is absolute peace in the state now.