EMMANUEL NLEWEDUM, Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.) has come under fire following his recent appointments of administrators across the 23 local government areas, and constitution of members of three Commissions in the state.
Vice Admiral Ibas (Rtd) on Wednesday through the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Ibibia Worika, announced the reconstitution of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, the State Civil Service Commission and Local Government Service Commission, which he had earlier suspended with new names, and also appointed administrators for all 23 LGAs in the state.
The development has sparked reactions from stakeholders across the state, with many condemning the appointments, describing it as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
A concerned stakeholder in the state, Barr. Chizi Enyi while briefing Journalists in Port Harcourt on Thursday condemned the actions of the Sole Administrator, accusing him of causing more troubles in the state instead of delivering his mandate of restoring peace.
Chizi Enyi said the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.) has no right to appoint administrators across the 23 LGAs, as well as Chairmen and members of agencies without the input of the House of Assembly.
He said, “From the statement by the SSG, all these appointments took effect immediately from Monday. And these are bodies or commissions that it’s Chairmen and members were supposed to undergo screening by the State Assembly before their confirmation even after nomination by the governor.
“But, if the State Assembly is still under suspension following the declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State, the National Assembly is still working. The Sole Administrator, assuming he has the power to make these appointments, ought to have sent the names to National Assembly for the right thing to be done, before they assume office.
“But the statement by the SSG indicates that the appointments take immediate effect, and we wonder why because these offices were created by the constitution.
“It is very unfortunate that the Sole Administrator, came to Rivers State only to cause more problems instead of solving problems on ground already and to restore peace to the state as directed by the president.
“Since his assumption to office till date, he has not even called the political gladiators involved in the crisis to make peace, instead he has resorted to appointing people into offices that are suspicious.”
Enyi who is also the President General, Initiative for Transparency Strategy and Good Leadership, described the appointments as unfortunate, and regretted that the Sole Administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas who has risen to the peak of his career and retired as the Chief of Naval Staff will stoop so low to be taking directives from the Minister of FCT who he alleged visited the state earlier in the week to submit names to be appointed into these offices.
He accused the Sole Administrator of not being sincere in delivering his mandate of making peace in Rivers State as he told Rivers people, with his appointment of Wike’s loyalists into all offices mentioned, he alleged.
“Everybody in this country knows that the problem in Rivers State is between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and if the Sole Administrator will come to appoint Wike’s loyalists into these offices, we then wonder the kind of peace they said he is coming to make.
“When I and some persons raised the issue on Monday, it was undermined. We know the essence of these is to conduct local government elections and we wonder where electoral processes will start now when the president has stopped all that, by suspending the governor and the house of Assembly and declared a state of emergency.”
He recalled that President Tinubu, while declaring the emergency rule in Rivers State asked the Sole Administrator not to make new laws, and wondered where he (Ibas) got his powers to think of conducting local government elections.
He however, advised the Sole Administrator, Ibas to tread with caution as not to undermine or destroy the legacies he had built over the years, even to the point of retiring as the Chief of Naval Staff in the country.
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