The Ijaw National Congress and the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Council have slammed the sole administrator of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) following his suspension of appointees of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Also, the IIjaw Youths Council has said the action of the sole administrator including the demanding g for the records of local government areas are aimed at looting the state?s resources.

Ibas in a statement in Port Harcourt on Wednesday issued by his unnamed Chief of Staff suspended the Secretary to the State Government, Commissioners and other appointees of the governor.

?Ibas action illegal?

But speaking on the development, President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, said Ibas action was illegal, just like his appointment.

Okaba insisted that the Constitution neither provided for the suspension of an elected governor nor for a sole administrator in a state.

He stated, ?It is all one component of multiple fractions on our constitution. The constitution does not provide for sole administrators or even the suspension of a legitimately elected governor.

?Section 308 of our constitution is very clear and those conditions were never met. So whatever he (Ibas) is doing is an extension of illegality. His position is illegal and whatever actions he?s taking is illegal, it?s punitive.

?So, suspending the commissioners and even secretary to state government are all playing the script of those who are deliberate on state capture. They want to capture Rivers State and its resources at all cost and this is one of the two options that was available to them.

?Tomorrow the man goes ahead to make further infractions, for us there?s no surprise. He might even set up caretaker committees at the local government level, there?s a possibility.

?Again, the same Supreme Court said you cannot have caretaker local government chairmen. The Supreme Court ruled and the Attorney General of this Federation acknowledged that ruling because he was even the plaintiff.

?But when it came to the sole administrator being appointed, he now finds justification. So, you can see that it?s not about what is right, it is about how that thing that is right is in my interest even when it?s wrong. It?s not about being wrong but it is all about whether it is in my interest, so it?s all self-serving.?

Prof. Okoba added, ?The entirety is a collaboration of the judiciary, the executive, the legislature, all conniving to to place a dent on our democracy, that?s just all.

?The rule of law is not followed, it is the rule of interest not rule of law and it?s very dangerous, particularly when the Injustice in a nation now wears the mask of the law, it is very dangerous, that?s what we are passing through.

?And you can see the condemnation all over and in the midst of these condemnation, these people are not ashamed of themselves, they are still perpetrating more evil.

?The only hope we have is that in their contradictions, they will contradict themselves and fall at the end of the day.?

Elders slam administrator

Similarly, a member of the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Council and pioneer spokesman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbe, reiterated the views of Okaba, insisting that his appointment by President Bola Tinubu was illegal.

Sara-Igbe lamented that the state allocation was withheld on the argument that Fubara had not presented the budget while the same funds were released to Ibas, who he claimed, occupies an illegal office.

Sara-Igbe said, ?He (the President) has also gone beyond that. The Supreme Court gave a judgment that don?t pay him (Fubara) until he presents the budget.

?The Governor made every effort to prevent the budget they didn?t allow him present the budget. Only for you to say you want to impeach him. You went to Court and they argue that the matter has been settled in the Supreme Court.

?The Court said make your case, let other people make their case. That is Labour Party versus the defectors. And when the Court admitted all the evidence and ruling will be given on the 16th.

?They came back and said they wanted to impeach him. When they saw that the impeachment process would not go through, and the law says the moment impeachment process fails, it fails forever, they now resorted to the commando style to bring a former military chief to become the governor, which is illegal.?

He added that the Constitution didn?t allow a sole administrator to play the role of a governor.

?So, he (Ibas) has no powers to sack commissioners. He also does not have powers to appoint local government administrators.

?And the Supreme Court is very clear. There shouldn?t be administrators for the local government areas. You must be elected. Then the President gave a fiat and they paid the money meant for Rivers State to an illegal sole administrator.

?By that action alone he has challenged the Supreme Court and I expect the Supreme Court to charge him for contempt.

?We have Bola Tinubu, Nyesom Wike, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Femi Gbajabiamila, the four persons now ruling Nigeria with fiat. And they think they can go away with this. Government go, government come, one day they will be called upon to clear themselves.

?If Mr. President has immunity, do the other people also have immunity? So, what he is doing is illegal, unconstitutional and therefore null and void. But I advise him (Ibas) as a senior citizen of this country not to dabble himself into something that he cannot come out from. He had a clean slate and retired. ?From information I gathered, they want to empower Wike for six months and allow him to go. By this time you want to conduct local government election.

?Even the local government election cannot work now because the notice is not up to 12 months; 360 days, that?s what the notice says. So, we will look at it and see how these things will play out. But all what they are doing is illegal.

?They are illegality, null and void and of no effect. They will account for everything, every penny.?

?Dictatorship in action?

On its part, the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide raised concerns over recent developments in Rivers, alleging that the target of those behind the scenes was to loot the state resources.

Also, the IYC said the state was now under full blown dictatorship supervised by Ibas.

The group condemned the suspension of political office holders and appointees by the administrator, describing it as an affront on the people?s rights.

The Secretary General of IYC Worldwide, Maobuye Obu, stated this in a statement issued on Thursday.

Obu alleged that the sole administrator was doing the bidding of the former governor of the state and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The statement read, ?The latest announcement by the Rivers State sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.) suspending statutory commissions and boards with clear tenures in the state is an affront on the rights of the people and nothing short of a full-blown military dictatorship in action.

?This reckless move, executed under the guise of presidential authority, is a desperate attempt to remove all possible checks and balances to facilitate the looting of Rivers State?s resources.

?It is now beyond doubt that the administrator is merely a puppet executing the agenda of former Governor Nyesom Wike, who remains hell-bent on controlling the state and draining its wealth.?

The IYC maintained that the move had security imitations, saying, ?By suspending the Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff, commissioners, board members, and special advisers, the administrator has effectively crippled the state?s democratic governance, leaving Rivers State at the mercy of a few handpicked loyalists willing to do Wike?s bidding.

?This action has grave security implications. By creating disaffection and sidelining legitimate government officials, the administrator is fueling political instability and pushing Rivers State towards crisis.

?The people of Rivers State will not be deceived?this is not about governance; it is about consolidating power to continue the reckless looting of the state?s treasury.?

The IYC official urged River people to stand against the suspension, which he tagged an abuse of power, and demanded a reversal.

?We categorically condemn this dictatorial action and call on all Rivers people to stand against this blatant abuse of power.

?The state belongs to the people, not to a cabal of political opportunists seeking to milk it dry. Democracy must be restored, and Rivers people must not be silenced.

?We demand an immediate reversal of this illegal suspension and a return to democratic governance. Rivers State must not be turned into the personal estate of a single individual and his cronies,? he added.

Okocha backs Tinubu

The All Progressives Congress stated that Tinubu?s state of emergency declaration in Rivers has resolved 90 per cent of the crisis in the region, as well as help prevent anarchy in the oil-rich state.

The Chairman of the APC caretaker committee in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, stated this on Thursday at the party?s national secretariat in Abuja after a thank-you visit to the Abdullahi Ganduje-led National Working Committee.

He emphasised that the suspension of Fubara was essential and despite opposition leaders former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party?s 2023 Presidential candidate Peter Obi urging the National Assembly to reject the declaration, both the Senate and House of Representatives strongly supported President Tinubu?s action.

However, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, instructed their state attorney generals to challenge the declaration in court, but Okocha insists Tinubu?s declaration returned peace back to the oil-rich state.

He stated, ?I want to tell you that the state of emergency declaration by Mr. President saved Rivers State from anarchy. Indeed, people like us could barely leave certain places where we were hiding out of fear of the unknown. When you see non-state actors brandishing guns and making statements that suggest anarchy and lawlessness, you know that a problem is looming.

?For the immediate, it was necessary. The decision of Mr President was a necessary evil. Whether the impeachment or suspension as it were today, I can tell you that 90 per cent of the political crisis in Rivers was solved. It was very necessary. It is like when you have a hernia, and the only solution is for an operation. The hernia is painful and the operation is painful, but without the operation, you won?t have any peace.?

Okocha, who cleared the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of any wrongdoing, stated that the former Governor was not involved in the situation.

He added, ?Was he in the fray? The answer is no. If bringing him to the fray is because he is the leader of that political structure, then you may be right. The 32 assembly members were produced and sponsored by the former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike.

?The election was one day, assembly and governorship. Are you not aware of what happened? The same group also threw up the governor of the state. So, if you want to get him into the fray, that is the only reason you can, or you should.

?The other point we make is that, and I have said that here before, Fubara was the weakest political investment. I have said that many times. What happens to you when you have invested? Should you allow the investment to fly away or to explode? And in politics, I am talking about even in Economics, in politics, it is heavy, if not impossible, for someone to allow you to dismantle his political structure. They are all members of the same party. We have APC; they are members of a party called PDP.?

NLC threatens strike

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress in Rivers State has decried the non -payment of salaries of local government workers since February.

The NLC threatened that they would withdraw their members from rendering services if their salaries were not paid along with that of March by month end.

The State NLC Chairman, Alex Agwanwor, stated this at a press briefing shortly after a meeting of the body?s state executive council meeting in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

Agwanwor also called for the implementation of the minimum wage at the local government areas of the state by the end of March or similar action would be taken.

He said the NLC aligned with the position of the national leadership of the organised labour on the state of emergency rule in Rivers State.

?Salaries of all public workers in the Rivers State Civil Service should be paid on or before the end of March,? he said.

?And the council also resolved that if by the end of this March that salaries of workers in the local government and the minimum wage is the not implemented in the local government and the salaries of workers in the public sector and all other public sectors under Rivers State Government are not paid that the state council will begin to initiative steps to withdraw our members from services in all the local governments and public service.?

Agwanwor added, ?The executive has also resolved that Rivers workers are not partisan and cannot suffer in this midst of all these crisis.

?Workers? salaries most especially at the local government levels have not been paid since February 2025 up till date.

?And we also demand the immediate implementation of the minimum wage at the local government levels in Rivers State by the end of this month.

?And that salaries of all local government workers to be paid on or before the end of March or we will withdraw our services.?

Coalition petitions UN

A coalition of about 30 civil society organisations has called on the United Nations to sanction Nigeria if the country failed to restore normal democratic governance in Rivers State.

The coalition condemned the declaration of a state of emergency in the state and suspension of Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu and members of the State House of Assembly.

They civil society bodies met in Port Harcourt on Thursday to file a petition to the secretary of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations at 760 United Nations Plaza in Manhattan, New York, United States of America.

The petition was filed by convener of the coalition, Egondu Esinwoke and the Coordinator, Courage Nsirimovu, a copy was made available to newsmen.

The CSOs asked the UN to prevail on President Tinubu to restore democratic governance in Rivers State or place sanctions on Nigeria for defaulting in her obligation to promote democracy and democratic institutions within her territory.

The petition also implored the UN to advise Nigeria?s President to limit his actions within the confines of the nation?s Constitution which they said is the ultimate law and from whence he derives his powers and authority.

The coalition admitted that they are guided by certain fundamental principles which are the fulcra of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The group tried to brief the UN on the running background of the Rivers crisis but seemed to weigh heavily against the former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, now Minister for the Federal Capital Territory.

The petition traced his public admittance of procuring forms for all elective office contestants from his party, all with alleged public funds, and how the now minister has turned round to insist of micro-managing every elective and appointive public office holder that emerged through his process.

They alleged that the refusal of Fubara to continue to Kowtow the dummy of his estranged political godfather that enraged the latter into orchestrating his impeachment in October 2023.

When this failed, the petition added, the lawmakers loyal to this process served impeachment notice to the governor.

?But that the governor resisted this move because there was no single offence pointed out to want to impeach a governor that had not stayed up to six months in office and had not even completed appointment of cabinet members. They said this is the genesis of the crisis,? the coalition stated.

It stated that the 27 lawmakers that swore to the plot to remove the governor on the say-so of the former governor defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress.

The petition added that the lawmakers later changed their minds when they allegedly realised the implication, saying this plunged the state into crisis.

The petition read, ?The Nigerian Constitution is explicitly clear and instructive as to the consequence of defection when there is no division in the party that sponsored the defector(s).

?Section 109(1)(g) provides that upon defection, a state legislator loses his/her seat.?

They said the Supreme Court has ruled on the matter many times to re-enforce the constitution which makes defection in peace time an automatic loss of seat in parliament.

They blamed the FCT minister to have worked through the 27 loyal lawmakers led by Martin Amaewhule to get a state of emergency declared in Rivers State.

They stated how the governor tried to comply with the Supreme Court judgement and how this was frustrated by the lawmakers to pave the way for a state of emergency, even as it condemn the a room of the President.

?Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency does not envisage in any way, the removal of a democratically elected Governor.

?The same section 305 is clear, that the proclamation only takes effect when 2/3 majority of the National Assembly-Senate and House of Representatives, affirms same. However, the President insisted it takes effect immediately in flagrant disregard of the Nigerian Constitution. ?

The petition continued, ?Now, they stated, officials of Rivers State Government, duly serving the people are being forced to resign and/or removed, and that tension, anxiety and uncertainty are palpable in the climate of the state.

?Tension, anxiety and uncertainty is palpable in the climate of the state. Consequently, it is our prayer that you use your good office to:

Prevail on the President of Nigeria to restore democratic governance in Rivers State.

?Place sanctions on Nigeria for defaulting in her obligation to promote democracy and democratic institutions within her territory.

?Advise the President to limit his actions within the confines of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which is the ultimate law and from whence he derives his powers and authority.? (The PUNCH)

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