Rivers crisis: Sole Administrator shuns Reps panel

Rivers crisis: Sole Administrator shuns Reps panel

The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), on Thursday, failed to appear before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State Oversight for an interactive session.

The committee, constituted by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and inaugurated on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, had earlier scheduled a meeting with Ibas for Thursday, April 17, 2025 but was later rescheduled at the instance of Ibas who sought for another date.

The session was intended to facilitate discussions on developments in Rivers State since Ibas assumed office.

Ibas, though in Abuja on Thursday for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, however, did not appear for  the meeting scheduled to hold at 3pm. Members of the panel who gathered at the meeting venue in anticipation of Ibas, were disappointed and forced to leave when they saw no sign of his coming after waiting for a while.

Following the absence of Ibas, chairman of the committee and House Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere and other lawmakers were seen exiting Committee Room 301 of the House of Representatives Complex without addressing the press.

When approached by journalists, Ihonvbere simply responded, “No comment.”

Recall that the committee, chaired by Rep. Julius Ihonvbere, had rescheduled the meeting for Thursday, 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.

It remains unclear whether a formal invitation letter was sent or acknowledged, as the committee did not provided details on the matter when approached by journalists.

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