Rivers Ex-administrator Ibas Got N401.9bn Allocation In Six Months

Records from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that Rivers State received a total of N401.9 billion from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) during the six-month tenure of former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd).

The payments covered both state and local government allocations disbursed between March and August 2025. Additionally, the federal government had released N36.6 billion in local government funds for January and February to Ibas shortly after he assumed office, funds that had been withheld from reinstated Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

According to official data, in March, Rivers State received N44.6 billion, while local governments got N18.5 billion. In April, the state received N44.4 billion, and LGAs got N19.4 billion.

May disbursements stood at N42.7 billion for the state and N16 billion for the councils, while June saw N42.3 billion and N18.8 billion, respectively. In July, the state received N39 billion and LGAs N18.8 billion, while August allocations were N41.6 billion for the state and N19.2 billion for LGAs.

Earlier data also showed that N16.7 billion and N19.9 billion were released for January and February as local government allocations, bringing the total disbursements under Ibas’ administration to N401.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Ibas has rejected moves by the Rivers State House of Assembly to probe financial transactions during his tenure, insisting that the lawmakers lack the authority to investigate him since they did not appoint him.

Speaking through his media adviser, Hector Igbikiowubu, Ibas argued that as an appointee of the President, he was accountable to the federal authorities, not the state legislature. “If you didn’t appoint the administrator, it goes to reason that you have certain limitations. When you also realise that the administrator was appointed by the President, it goes without reason that the administrator acted for and on behalf of the President,” he said.

He described the planned probe as a “fool’s errand,” saying any investigation of his administration would amount to probing both the President and the National Assembly, under whose supervision he served.

Throughout his tenure, Ibas failed to publish the state’s quarterly budget performance reports, creating what observers described as a period of financial opacity in the state.

Governor Fubara was reinstated on September 18, ending Ibas’ six-month sole administration of Rivers State.