The Rivers State House of Assembly has resolved to investigate the management of the state’s finances during the six-month period when Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) served as sole administrator.

 

The decision was taken on Thursday morning as the lawmakers held their first plenary session following the suspension of emergency rule by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. During the sitting, the Assembly also urged Governor Siminalayi Fubara to promptly submit the names of his nominees for commissioner positions so they can be screened and confirmed.

 

The Thursday session, presided over by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, took place at the conference hall inside the legislative quarters, as the main Assembly complex remains under reconstruction after it was demolished months earlier by the state government.

 

President Tinubu had on Wednesday announced the suspension of the emergency rule in the oil-rich state, effectively restoring all democratic structures and clearing the way for the House to reconvene.

 

The emergency measures were imposed on March 18 following a deep political rift between Governor Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, his predecessor in Rivers State. The dispute triggered a prolonged political crisis that disrupted governance and heightened tensions across the state.

 

As part of the emergency actions, Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the state legislature for six months while appointing Ibas, a retired naval chief and former Chief of Naval Staff, to oversee the administration of the state during the period.

 

With the return to democratic rule, the lawmakers have now turned their attention to scrutinising the state’s finances under Ibas’s stewardship. The probe is expected to examine revenue inflows, expenditures, and the overall management of public funds while the state was under sole administration.

 

Legislative sources say the Assembly aims to ensure transparency and accountability for the period of emergency governance and to reassure Rivers residents that public resources were properly managed.

 

The call for Governor Fubara to submit a list of commissioner nominees also signals a move to restore a full executive cabinet, which has been without substantive commissioners since the imposition of emergency rule.

 

Political observers view these steps as crucial to stabilising governance in the state and rebuilding public confidence after months of political turmoil.