The Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, lawyers and civil society organisations, CSOs, yesterday, came hard on Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, (retd), for appointing 23 local government administrators, despite a court order, accusing him of contempt.
Recall that Justice Adam Muhammed of a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had on Tuesday a suit by PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Msirimovu, restrained Ibas from appointing administrators for the local governments in the state.
The sole administrator also approved the constitution of some boards of agencies, commissions and parastatals, which he had earlier suspended.
The approval was contained in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof. Ibibia Worika.
“The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibas (retd) has approved the appointments of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State.”
“He also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals, earlier suspended. All appointments take effect from April 7, 2025,” the official circular read,
Worried by the turn of events in the state, President of PANDEF, Prof. Godknows Igali, observed: “A systematic tearing down of various structures, which are important for the continued building and consolidation of democracy in Rivers State is taking place under your watch.”
He recalled that during the time of President Goodluck Jonathan, the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, “was man enough and had the fear of God to tell the then President that though the parts of the country, i.e., Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe were under foreign invasion, a state of emergency cannot result in pulling down the institutions of democratic governance we are still nurturing after long years of military rule.
“It was, therefore, difficult for me, despite the fact that you are a man with a good service record and also one of our proud sons, to endorse you. Because your presence in Rivers State is an embarrassing aberration to all men of goodwill and good conscience.”
Igali expressed concerns that the more troubling scenario that has emerged from Ibas’ assumption of office was the “unbelievable level of dismantling, disassembling, and tearing down of all the institutions of democracy that have been in existence in the state.
‘’These are many, and I may not be able to exhaustively recount all of them, but the mention of a few will suffice”.
He said the first of such undemocratic actions of the sole administrator “is the removal of the photographs of the elected governor from all offices when he has not yet been removed from office. “This I saw first-hand at the Port Harcourt International Airport, where I often pass through and was told this was at the behest of your administration.
‘’On enquiry, I was told that this has happened in all other government offices around the state. Beyond that, is your most recent decision to suspend the boards of existing statutory institutions such as state Independent Electoral Commission, Governing Councils of Tertiary Institutions, and even the revered Traditional Rulers Council.”
“I do not claim to be an expert on constitutional matters but as one who has been atop in the country’s bureaucracy and from best global practices around the world which I know too well from my diplomatic career of nearly half a century, the duties of a sole administrator as a placeholder are:
“Making decisions in an interim manner regarding the management and day to day administration of the state; financial control, especially receiving money, making payments, and ensuring transparency; managing personnel and ensuring other human resource functions; and taking measures to ensure peace, particularly using the office to intermediate and bring back peace to the realm in question; in this case, Rivers State.”
Lawyers accuse Ibas of contempt over LGA appointments
In separate interviews with Vanguard, lawyers noted that Ibas made the appointments in the face of a court injunction that barred him from doing do.
Mr. Mohammed Abeny, SAN, said: “The action of the sole administrator of Rivers State is illegal, just like his appointment.
“Apart from the subsisting court order which he has wilfully and recklessly flouted, he has also disobeyed the apex court’s various judgments declaring the appointment of administrators to run local governments as illegal and unconstitutional.
“Those who appointed him as administrator of Rivers State never meant well for this country and the survival of constitutional democracy in Nigeria.
“We never had this extreme lawlessness and disobedience of courts’ judgments, even during the military.”
Another lawyer, Mr. Benjamin Umukoro, said: “A full panel of the Supreme Court was unanimous in its decision that such practice was illegal. Surprisingly, it was this same President Bola Tinubu’s administration that filed the case at the apex court.
“When the governor of Edo State suspended all the elected council chairmen in the state, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, quickly intervened by declaring the action illegal.
“It is surprising that he has kept mute in the face of this brazen illegality in Rivers State. First, contrary to the order of the Supreme Court, President Tinubu released all the withheld allocations of Rivers State to the sole administrator.
“Now, contrary to an order of court, the administrator has appointed his own administrators in all the LGAs in Rivers State.
“This is why some of us have been shouting that one illegality will surely beget another illegality. This recent development is no doubt an affront on the authority of the court. The Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibas, should be made to face a contempt charge, at least to let him understand that we are not under the military rule where anything goes.”
Another lawyer, Emeribe Ugonna, said: “If there was a court order and same was duly served on the Sole Administrator and he still proceeded to act against the said order, those that obtained the order should know what to do.
“There is a laid down procedure to tackle any willful disobedience to a court order. Under our jurisprudence, no one is above the law. If he is found to have flouted a court order, he should be committed to prison to purge himself of the said contempt.
“The first step is to notify him about his disobedience and afterwards, give him the opportunity to show cause why he should not be jailed for such disobedience. The law is not a respecter of anyone no matter how highly placed.’’
