Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas - Chief of Naval Staff PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT (PMB) JULY 13 2015
The immediate past Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), on Wednesday evening visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he met with President Bola Tinubu alongside the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede.
Ibas, who officially vacated office on September 17 following the expiration of the six-month emergency rule in Rivers, arrived at Aso Rock around 6 p.m. and was ushered into the meeting by Edun and Olukoyede.
Although details of the closed-door meeting were not made public, a presidency source told The PUNCH that the parley was linked to Ibas’ brief stewardship of the oil-rich state.
The visit came barely three days after the former sole administrator rejected the Rivers State House of Assembly’s resolution to probe government spending during the period of emergency administration.
When contacted, Ibas’ media aide, Hector Igbikiowubo, said he was unaware of the meeting but promised to make enquiries and revert. He had yet to respond as of press time on Wednesday night.
President Tinubu had, on September 17, directed the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and state lawmakers after six months of direct federal administration, effectively ending Ibas’ tenure.
At its first sitting after the restoration of democratic governance, the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly resolved to investigate how funds were expended during the emergency rule, particularly from the state’s consolidated revenue account.
Findings by The PUNCH showed that Rivers State received a total of N254.37bn from the Federation Account Allocation Committee between March and August 2025 while under Ibas’ watch.
Breakdowns from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed allocations of N44.66bn in March, N44.42bn in April, N42.80bn in May and N42.30bn in June. FAAC documents further indicated that the state received N38.42bn in July and N41.76bn in August, averaging N42.40bn monthly.
