ABUJA, Nigeria – President Bola Tinubu has summoned the immediate past Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), to the Presidential Villa in Abuja for a high-level meeting.
The meeting, which took place on Tuesday evening, is believed to be connected to the impending probe into the state’s finances during the six-month period of presidential emergency rule.
Ibas arrived at the State House at approximately 5:50 PM, dressed in brown native attire. He was accompanied by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede.
The attendance of the nation’s top finance official and the chief anti-graft investigator underscores the meeting’s significant financial and governance implications.
This development follows a resolution by the Rivers State House of Assembly, under Speaker Martin Amaewhule, to investigate the state’s expenditure during the emergency period. The Assembly has specifically stated its intention to “explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule with regard to spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditure.”
Ibas, who served as Sole Administrator for six months, has previously rejected the decision to probe his administration’s spending.
According to available data, Rivers State received an estimated N254.37 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025, coinciding with Ibas’s tenure.
President Tinubu had ended the emergency rule on September 17, 2025, directing the reinstated Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and state lawmakers to resume their duties. The summoning of the former administrator marks a critical next step in addressing the contentious financial affairs of the oil-rich state.
