A political pressure group, Rivers United for Tinubu 2027, has faulted plans by the Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to hold a state-wide thanksgiving service on Sunday, September 14, 2025, describing it as “a mockery of democracy.”
In a strongly worded statement signed by its Director of Publicity and Communications, Clifford Amadi-Okanezi, the group alleged that the administration has presided over “hardship, lack of transparency, and questionable financial practices” in the past six months of emergency rule.
According to the statement, the group questioned what Rivers people are being called to thank God for, citing alleged non-payment of salaries, deductions from local government allocations, and stalled grassroots governance.
The group further alleged that during a recent Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting, local government chairmen rejected cheques issued to them after what they described as “over ₦1 billion per LGA” was deducted, totaling more than ₦23 billion across the state. It also referenced an earlier ₦200 million deduction in July.
On project implementation, Rivers United for Tinubu 2027 claimed that Vice Admiral Ibas announced the renovation of the state secretariat without disclosing the contract sum or procurement details, raising transparency concerns. The group also questioned his claim of “saving ₦5 billion” from an ongoing biometric verification exercise while workers’ salaries allegedly remain unpaid.
“The same administration that has left Rivers workers and institutions stranded now seeks to gather the people for thanksgiving. Any such ceremony can only be described as a mockery of God, democracy, and the people of Rivers State,” the statement read in part.
The group maintained that Rivers people would prefer to give thanks privately in their homes and churches for what it described as “the imminent end of this administration.”
It urged Vice Admiral Ibas and his allies to “enjoy their final days in office,” insisting that their actions would be remembered on “the painful and ignoble side of history.”
