The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the actions of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), the interim administrator appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to oversee Rivers State, describing them as a “systematic and unconstitutional dismantling of democratic structures.”
In a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA accused Ibas of acting like “a bull in a China shop” by allegedly removing official portraits of Governor Siminalayi Fubara from public buildings and bypassing court orders to install unelected local council administrators.
HURIWA and 36 other registered non-governmental organizations reject what they term as unconstitutional overreach and a systematic power grab. They argue that Governor Fubara, having been duly elected and inaugurated, remains the legitimate and sitting governor of Rivers State, and warn against any moves undermining his authority or cutting his constitutional tenure short.
Ambassador Godknows Igali, a respected former top diplomat and permanent secretary, echoed HURIWA’s concerns, describing Ibas’s actions as “an embarrassing aberration to all men of goodwill and good conscience.” Igali recounted witnessing the removal of Governor Fubara’s photograph at the Port Harcourt International Airport, a directive reportedly implemented across all government offices.
HURIWA further accused the administrator of openly flouting an extant order of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which barred the appointment of unelected local council officials. Despite the ruling, Ibas allegedly installed what HURIWA described as “Kangaroo administrators.”
Onwubiko warned that if not checked, Ibas’s actions could set a dangerous precedent, emphasizing that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees local government autonomy and democratic governance at all levels. He questioned the legality of the administrator’s recent appointment of new officials to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission while the tenures of the current commissioners remain active.
