Rivers Sole Administrator appoints Administrators for 23 LGAs

Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has gone ahead to appoint administrators for the state’s 23 Local Government Areas, barely a day after a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt reportedly issued an order restraining him from doing so.

The court order was granted on Tuesday by Justice Adam Muhammed in suit number FHC/PH/CS/46/2025. The case was filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Msirimovu, challenging the sole administrator in his official role.

In addition to the LG appointments, Ibas also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals that he had earlier suspended.

These approvals were announced on Wednesday morning through a Special Government Announcement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika. Although the statement did not include the names of the newly appointed officials, it stated clearly that the appointments take immediate effect.

The statement reads: “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.”
It continued, “He has also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals, earlier suspended. All appointments take effect from Monday, the 7th of April 2025.”

It will be recalled that last week, Ibas ordered the suspension of all heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state.

In a separate move, the sole administrator also nullified all ongoing procurement and tender processes conducted by MDAs across the state. He explained that this decision was taken due to the Supreme Court ruling and the lack of an appropriation law during the affected period.

According to an earlier statement also issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Ibas instructed that all MDAs involved in such tender processes must refund any collected fees to the respective contractors immediately.