Stakeholders ask n’assembly to probe Ibas’ stint as Rivers administrator

Stakeholders have asked the national assembly to probe Ibok-Ete Ibas, former Rivers sole administrator, over the N254.37 billion allocated to the state during the six-month emergency rule.

The demand comes days after President Bola Tinubu lifted the suspension on Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers; his cabinet and members of the house of assembly, ending the emergency rule declared in March amid a protracted political crisis in the state.

Ibas, who was appointed to oversee the state during the period, stepped down on Friday as Fubara returned to office.

His administration received allocations largely from oil derivation, which accounted for more than half of the total inflow.

During an X Spaces session hosted by NPO Reports and Iwadi Development Initiative on Monday, speakers said the national assembly must compel Ibas to render a public account of his stewardship. 

Muyiwa Adeyemi, former politics editor of The Guardian, said lawmakers have the constitutional duty to demand accountability.

“All the proceeds and what you’ve done with them, you ought to account for. The national assembly should, as a matter of urgency, ask him to give a comprehensive account and make it public,” he said.

Paul Bazia, chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Rivers, said such a probe would not only serve the people but also help Ibas clear his name.

“For the purpose of accountability, you need to show the people: ‘I received XYZ amount, this is what I spent’,” he said.

The conversation also touched on the political rift between Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

While Adeyemi argued that the governor lacks the political structure to withstand his predecessor, Bazia described Fubara as “more of a technocrat than a politician” whose next steps will determine whether he consolidates his projects or bows to pressure.