Court Bars Rivers State Sole Administrator From Appointing Council Heads in Rivers
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has issued an interim order stopping Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, from naming individuals to oversee the 23 local government areas as sole administrators or in similar capacities.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed, followed an ex parte motion filed March 28 by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative led by Courage Msirimovu.
In the court documents, the applicant sought an interim injunction and additional reliefs the court might consider necessary. Granting the request, Justice Mohammed scheduled the substantive hearing for April 14.
The order comes amid a prolonged political standoff in Rivers State, where disputes over control of local government councils have deepened rifts between factions aligned with Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, former Governor Nyesom Wike.
Tensions began after the tenure of local government chairmen elected under Wike expired in June 2023. The 27 lawmakers who later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) attempted to extend those tenures, a move Fubara reversed by dissolving the councils and naming caretaker heads.
Fubara’s decision was met with opposition from the pro-Wike bloc and a segment of the APC led by Tony Okocha. Despite the crisis, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission went ahead with local government elections on Oct. 5, 2024. The Wike-aligned APC challenged the process, and the Supreme Court ruled in their favor on Feb. 28.
Following that ruling, Fubara dismissed the officials elected through the annulled polls and asked senior council administrators to manage affairs temporarily.
Opponents claimed the move sidestepped due process. The Amaewhule-led group of defected lawmakers and APC members accused the Fubara administration of targeting RSIEC officials and eroding legal procedures.
Supporters of the governor alleged that Ibas was preparing to install loyalists as interim leaders across the councils—a plan now halted by the court.
