Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the sole administrator of River State, was supposed to appear before the House of Representatives Committee that oversees the state’s administration on Thursday under the emergency rule, but he did not show up for the hearing.
Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, the chairman of the committee, met with committee members behind closed doors for around fifty minutes and refused to talk to the media afterwards.
The committee members’ refusal to comment disappointed journalists.
Prominent legislators, including Ali Isah, the Deputy Chief Whip, and the chairs of many House committees, including those for Federal Character, Finance, Water Resources, and Health Services, were present at the meeting.
Admiral Ibas will now meet with the committee on Friday, April 25, 2025, at 10 am at the National Assembly Complex, a source told The Intercept, even though no formal explanation was given for his absence. One possible explanation for the Sole Administrator’s absence is his attendance at the National Economic Council meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
In the meanwhile, hundreds of women from the Opobo Kingdom marched in Rivers State to call for the prompt restoration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who had been suspended after the state declared a state of emergency.
The ladies argued that the emergency rule was illegal and opposed the appointment of a Sole Administrator to run the state’s operations.
The demonstration started with a serious prayer session at King Jaja Monument Square, conducted by Felicia Pepple, president of the Opobo ladies Association. The ladies wore black to ask for divine intervention.
The demonstrators were motivated by the sermon given by Venerable Michael Dappa, a clergyman. The women then protested by marching to the Water Side and sitting on the ground while screaming, “Bring back our Governor.”
Pepple urged President Bola Tinubu to reinstall Fubara, highlighting the governor’s constructive contributions to the state’s progress: “We voted for our peaceful and amiable Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara; we say no to emergency rule.” She bemoaned the suffering endured by the residents of Rivers State during the emergency and encouraged Nigerians to back their cause.
Blessing Accra-Jaja, a native, bemoaned the desolation of the town’s previously lively monuments, like as King Jaja Monument Square and nearby hotels.
In an effort to bring peace and the town’s festive spirit back, she urged President Tinubu and the National Assembly Reconciliation Committee to reinstall Governor Fubara.
The Rivers Women Unite Prayer Group called on President Tinubu to address the problem and voiced their worry about the current emergency rule.
They cautioned that women, young people, and children were suffering as a result of Rivers State’s collapsing economy. The group called on the president to end the emergency, reinstate the state’s democratic institutions, and put Governor Fubara back in office during a prayer rally in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Vivian Ige-Elenwo and Chikodi Okpara signed the group’s statement, which urged for peace and an end to the political impasse and emphasised the urgency of taking immediate action to preserve the state’s economy and enhance the quality of life for its citizens.
READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: Fubara Slams Police for Cracking Down on Protesters
While expressing their unflinching support for President Tinubu, the ladies did not waver in their demands for justice, equity, and the Governor’s return.
In view of recent assaults in the states of Plateau, Benue, and Gombe, the statement also demanded more security, emphasising the necessity of long-term peace and progress in the nation.
Lawyers demand NBA President’s resignation
Following the controversy surrounding a N300 million payment purportedly received from the Rivers State Government, a group of well-known legal experts, acting under the auspices of the Public Interest Lawyers League, have demanded the immediate resignation of Afam Osigwe (SAN), the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Emeka Obegolu, the chairman of the NBA Annual General Conference Organising Committee.
The demand from the organisation coincides with mounting calls for the NBA to return the money allegedly put into its coffers by Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended governor of Rivers State, in exchange for hosting the association’s 2025 Annual General Conference.
The NBA insists that the N300 million was a “gift” from the Rivers State Government, even though the conference has subsequently moved to Enugu.
PILL President Abdul Mahmud charged the NBA leadership of undermining the association’s credibility during a news conference held in Abuja on Thursday.
To preserve what little credibility the group still had, he asked them to return the money and step down right away.
“The NBA cannot claim to be the watchdog of public morality while engaging in conduct so thoroughly devoid of the very standards it seeks to impose on others,” Mahmud said. “The insistence of the NBA leadership to hold on to the N300m is not only disgraceful but reflects a deeper rot that has enabled an unaccountable elite within the association to treat the NBA as a personal fiefdom.”
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Rivers’ Sole Administrator Ibas Storms Aso Rock for Economic Council Meeting
Mahmud stressed that their call for resignation was not punitive, but a necessary first step towards organisational reform.
“This moment demands accountability, courage, and leadership,” he declared. “These resignations are necessary acts of organisational cleansing, aimed at restoring trust and credibility in the NBA.”
PILL further condemned the lack of transparency surrounding the transaction, noting that the revelation came not from NBA leadership but from the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
“It was not disclosed in any official NBA communication, nor acknowledged by the Conference Organising Committee. It took an external whistleblower to bring this dark secret to light,” Mahmud said. “This scandal is not just about money—it is about principle, integrity, and the very soul of the Nigerian Bar Association.”
