For the second time in a week, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), The Sole Administrator of Rivers State has failed to appear before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee overseeing the state’s emergency rule.
The committee, inaugurated on April 15, 2025, and led by Rep. Julius Ihonvbere, was established to probe the unfolding political and administrative drama in Rivers following the controversial suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the imposition of emergency rule by the presidency.
Initially scheduled for April 17, the session was shifted to April 24 at Ibas’s request. The new date was meant to provide a platform for Ibas to explain his role and actions since assuming office, but once again, the chair reserved for him at Committee Room 301 in the National Assembly Complex remained empty.
Despite being in Abuja, present at the Presidential Villa for a National Economic Council meeting, Ibas did not show up for the legislative session. Questions now swirl over whether a formal invitation was issued, acknowledged, or simply ignored.
The committee has gone quiet on the specifics. Lawmakers filed out of the meeting room with tight lips. When approached, Chairman Ihonvbere offered a curt, “No comment,” leaving the press and public with more questions than answers.
The latest no-show has pushed the committee to postpone the session indefinitely, a move that raises fresh concerns about transparency and the actual mechanisms of oversight during the ongoing emergency administration in Rivers.
With political tension rising and public protests simmering in Port Harcourt and beyond, many are now asking: Where is the accountability in Rivers? And will the legislature get the answers it seeks, or continue to be left in the dark?
More to come as the situation unfolds.
