Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), yesterday, failed to attend a scheduled appearance before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State oversight. He was, however, among the state governors who attended the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

Ibas made his debut appearance at the NEC meeting after his appointment as a Sole Administrator for Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu following the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara in March 2025.

Vice President Kashim Shettima presided over the meeting, which had many governors and some deputy governors from across the 36 states in attendance.
The Reps committee invited him to discuss the state’s current political situation and governance under the declared emergency.

The committee, chaired by the House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, was established by the leadership of the House following Tinubu’s declaration of a six-month state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025.

The President suspended Fubara, his deputy, and the state legislature. Ibas was appointed as the sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs during this period.

The lawmakers who went into a closed-door meeting were disappointed without addressing journalists. When asked why Ibas failed to honour the meeting, Ihonvbere said “no comment”. The session was intended to facilitate discussions on developments in Rivers State since Ibas assumed office.

However, despite being in Abuja for the National Economic Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Ibas did not attend the scheduled session.

Recall that the committee, chaired by Julius Ihonvbere, had rescheduled the meeting for yesterday, April 24, 2025, following an earlier postponement at Ibas’s request. Yet again, the Rivers State administrator failed to show up, and the committee did not communicate any reason for his absence.