September 15, (THEWILL) — Rivers State Sole Administrator for the past six months, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, rtd on Sunday finalised his assignment with a farewell, low-key thanksgiving service in Port Harcourt as part of the transitional activity.
Addressing congregants at the interdenominational service, Ibas appealed for peace and calm as part of renewed efforts to deepen the restoration of understanding among aggrieved parties.
“The seeds of reconciliation have been planted, but they need your deliberate nurture to take root. Rivers State cannot afford another season of division and acrimony. Politics must never be an excuse to destroy the very state we are called to serve,” he told the gathering composed mainly of civil servants, including permanent secretaries, local government chairmen, heads of boards, agencies, parastatals, and security commanders across the state. Other stakeholders like politicians either from Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s camp or that of the Federal Capital Territory Ministry Nyesom Wike, as well traditional rulers were notably absent.
The departing Sole Administrator thanked President Bola Tinubu for appointing him as administrator on March 18, 2025, following the declaration of a state of emergency in the state, following prolonged political tension caused by supremacy battle between Fubara and Wike and their loyalists in the House of Assembly. President Tinubu suspended Fubara, his Deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu and members of the Assembly for six months, which expires on September 18, 2025.
Giving thanks to God for his successful completion of his assignment, Ibas, “By God’s grace and with the support of Mr. President and all of you, we have worked through those difficult days together. Today, we thank God for peace, stability, and the successful conduct of local government elections across the state. Let us forgive, let us reconcile, and let us heal. For where there is peace, there is progress, and where there is love, there is prosperity.”
