President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (rtd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
The administrator was sworn in following a short meeting with the president on Wednesday afternoon.
Tinubu announced the appointment of the retired naval chief at a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu; and the Rivers State House of Assembly members.
Tinubu hinged his decision on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, saying he can’t continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking any action.
The suspension of Fubara and other democratically elected representatives has been expressly rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, groups including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Nigerian Bar Association, among others.
However, the emergency rule has been praised by the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, accusing Fubara of contravening the Supreme Court ruling on the political situation in the state.
Ibas was the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021. He was born in Cross River where he is from and had his early education there.
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