The immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), has been dragged before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations of financial mismanagement during his six-month stewardship.
A petition filed by a public interest law firm led by human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, accused Ibas of presiding over questionable expenditures amounting to at least ₦283.3 billion between March 18 and September 17, 2025. The development comes just hours after Ibas was sighted at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where he held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Breakdown of Alleged Funds
According to figures cited from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the inflows under Ibas’ watch included: ₦36.6 billion in local government allocations for January and February 2025, which were previously withheld. ₦246.7 billion in state and local government allocations between March and June 2025.
The petitioners alleged that despite these massive inflows, Rivers State witnessed “no corresponding evidence of projects or tangible development.” Allegations of Mismanagement Adeyanju’s petition claimed that the only visible project executed under Ibas was the “cosmetic renovation and painting” of the State House of Assembly complex. It further accused him of failing to publish the mandatory budget performance reports for the second quarter of 2025, describing it as a violation of Nigeria’s fiscal transparency laws.
The petition also cited remarks attributed to Ibas’ media aide, Hector Igbikiowubu, suggesting that the retired naval chief considered himself accountable only to the President and the National Assembly—not to the Rivers State House of Assembly. “Recent statements credited to him dismiss the authority of the Rivers House of Assembly to probe his financial conduct. He insists that because he was appointed by the President and supervised by the National Assembly, he was only answerable to them,” the petition read in part. Call for Urgent Probe
The law firm urged the ICPC to immediately investigate how the ₦283.3bn was spent and determine whether misappropriation, diversion of funds, or abuse of office occurred. “It is in light of the foregoing that we respectfully demand that the ICPC probe the financial expenditure of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), ascertain how the total amount of ₦283.3bn was applied, and investigate whether any acts of misappropriation, diversion, or abuse of office occurred during this period,” Adeyanju stated.
Controversial Appointment Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff (2015–2021), was appointed by President Tinubu in March 2025 to administer Rivers State after a state of emergency was declared. His appointment, which effectively sidelined Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state legislature, sparked heated debates over its constitutionality and fears of over centralization of power.
He handed over authority on September 17, 2025, following the reinstatement of Governor Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly. The ICPC is yet to issue an official response to the petition as public attention continues to mount over the alleged mismanagement of state funds.