A coalition under the banner of Niger Delta Advocates for Good Governance has accused Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), of masterminding what it calls the “largest looting spree in the history of the state,” warning that the state is being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.
In a strongly worded statement issued in Port Harcourt and signed by its spokesman, Chief Honest Nwenenda Woke, the group alleged that Ibas has turned Rivers’ treasury into a personal vault under the guise of reforms, despite assurances of fiscal prudence.
According to the group, reliable sources within Government House revealed that in July 2025, Ibas ordered the deduction of over ₦200 million from each of the 23 local government councils. The Advocates further disclosed that at Tuesday’s Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting on September 9, 2025, the administrator “shamelessly announced” fresh deductions of over ₦1 billion from every council, supposedly for payment of pensioners.
The announcement sparked uproar as newly inaugurated council chairmen reportedly rejected cheques in protest, insisting that the deductions were unlawful and unsustainable.
The group challenged the credibility of Ibas’s explanations, recalling his previous claim of discovering thousands of ghost workers and reducing the wage bill. “If ghost workers were truly flushed out, why is he demanding ₦23 billion from local councils? Rivers people are not fools,” the statement queried.
The Advocates accused Ibas of betraying the trust of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose intervention recently calmed the state’s political turbulence. Instead of consolidating peace, they allege, Ibas is exploiting the fragile calm to siphon public funds.
“It is tragic that Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas is abusing Mr. President’s magnanimity and deliberately dragging Rivers into economic ruins,” the statement warned.
The group also raised fears of looming salary delays, warning that workers may not receive their August salaries due to what it described as Ibas’s “reckless cash-grab.”
Calling for urgent intervention, the Advocates demanded a full-scale probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Beyond Nigeria, the group said it is mobilising petitions to international watchdogs and foreign governments to impose travel bans and asset freezes on the embattled administrator.
“Rivers people will no longer fold their arms while their future is mortgaged. We are prepared to resist this plunder locally and internationally until accountability is served,” the statement declared.
