Court stops Rivers Sole Administrator from appointing LGA administrators

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has issued a restraining order against the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), barring him from appointing sole administrators or their equivalents to manage the 23 local government areas in the state. The order was granted by Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed in response to Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/46/2025, filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, a civic organization led by Courage Msirimovu.

The court’s decision followed a motion ex parte submitted on March 28, 2025, in which the applicant requested interim reliefs to prevent the respondent and his agents from proceeding with such appointments. After considering the motion, Justice Mohammed granted the order and scheduled April 14, 2025, for the hearing of the substantive case.

The legal development is the latest chapter in the ongoing political turmoil in Rivers State, which escalated following the expiration of the tenure of elected local government chairmen in June 2023. The chairmen, initially elected during the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike, claimed a tenure extension granted by 27 lawmakers who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and pledged allegiance to Wike.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara, upon assuming office, dissolved the local government councils and appointed caretaker chairmen, igniting a fierce power struggle between his camp and Wike loyalists. Control of the local councils has since become the focal point of the political contest between both factions.

In an attempt to reestablish local governance, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted local government elections on October 5, 2024. However, the legitimacy of the elections was challenged in court by the APC faction loyal to Wike, led by Tony Okocha. The legal dispute culminated in a Supreme Court ruling on February 28, 2025, which favored the Wike-backed APC group.

In response to the judgment, Governor Fubara annulled the appointments resulting from the invalidated election and instructed heads of local council administration to temporarily take charge until fresh elections could be held. This move was met with strong resistance from the APC and the faction of defected lawmakers led by Martin Amaewhule, who accused Fubara’s administration of undermining constitutional processes and targeting RSIEC officials.

Supporters of the governor alleged that the Sole Administrator was preparing to unconstitutionally appoint new administrators across the LGAs, prompting the legal challenge that led to the current court injunction. The ruling marks a significant development in the prolonged political crisis in Rivers State, which remains unresolved despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a political state of emergency on March 18.

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