The immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), on Wednesday, visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Naijaonpoint reports that Ibas, who arrived at the Villa around 5:50 p.m., clad in brown native attire, was accompanied by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede.

Although details of the meeting were not disclosed, sources told The Independent that discussions may have centred on Ibas’ stewardship during his six-month administration of Rivers State.

The parley lasted about two hours, after which Ibas declined to speak with reporters eager to hear his assessment of governance in the oil-rich state.

A retired naval chief and former Chief of Naval Staff (2015–2021), Ibas was appointed by Tinubu in March 2025 as Sole Administrator after the President declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.

His mandate was to stabilise governance and maintain federal oversight amid the political crisis involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, now FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Tinubu had justified Ibas’ appointment as necessary to “restore peace and order” in the volatile state.

Only hours before Ibas’ visit, reinstated Governor Fubara was also at the Villa, where he pledged loyalty to the President and vowed to consolidate peace in Rivers.

Presidency sources who spoke on Ibas’s visit suggested that his mission could also have been a “thank you visit” to appreciate the President for the opportunity to serve.

Ibas, however, maintained silence throughout the encounter with State House correspondents.