(DDM) – Five months after President Bola Tinubu declared emergency rule in Rivers State, the administration of retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator is now under intense legal and political pressure.
Tinubu suspended the elected governor, deputy governor, and House of Assembly in March 2025, handing Ibas direct control of the oil-rich state’s finances while allowing the judiciary to function.
DDM gathered that the Attorney-General defended the move as necessary to restore stability, but constitutional experts immediately questioned its legality.
Barely weeks into the new order, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt restricted Ibas from making political appointments.
In a fresh twist, five Rivers indigenes recently filed a case in Abuja seeking to halt the August 30 local government elections, arguing that polls cannot hold under suspended democratic structures.
The Rivers State House of Assembly initially declared loyalty to Ibas, but opposition voices and legal analysts insist the federal government has no constitutional authority to replace an elected administration with a military-style appointee.
This conflict has left the state trapped between administrative continuity and democratic legitimacy.
Ibas continues to run day-to-day governance with federal backing, but mounting legal challenges cast doubt on the sustainability of his authority.
Public opinion remains divided. Some residents welcome the central government’s intervention as a stabilizing measure in a politically volatile state, while others see it as a dangerous precedent that erodes Nigeria’s democratic foundation.
With the six-month emergency period nearing its expiration, Rivers faces an uncertain future.
DDM notes that the judiciary may soon decide whether Abuja exceeded its constitutional powers or whether political negotiations will reinstate elected governance.
What is clear is that Ibas’ rule has deepened national debates about the balance between constitutional democracy and executive overreach in Nigeria.
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