There are indications that the House of Representatives and the Presidency may be jostling for control of the affairs of the Rivers State government.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, while declaring emergency rule in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, had stated that the Sole Administrator, retired Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, would be reporting to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
However, the House of Representatives, while approving the emergency rule on March 20, 2025, had invoked Section 11(4) of the Constitution, shifting the power to exercise oversight function on Rivers State to the National Assembly.
As follow up, Reps Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, had on Tuesday, inaugurated a 21-member legislative ad hoc committee charged with the oversight function on the activities of the Rivers Administrator.
On Wednesday, the 21-member committee, chaired by Rep Julius Ihonvbere, summoned Ibas to appear before the panel the next day, to give account of his four-week stewardship as Administrator of Rivers State.
In a curious twist, however, the scheduled interactive session with the Administrator was postponed indefinitely, barely 24 hours after the summons were issued.
In a statement issued by House spokesperson, Rep. Akin Rotimi, in Abuja on Thursday, the lawmakers said the indefinite postponement was at the instance of the Administrator.
“In the spirit of transparent and effective oversight, the committee will promptly inform the public once the rescheduled date is confirmed,” Rotimi said.
Stakeholders have observed that the 24-hour notice the 21-member panel gave the Administrator might be inadequate for him to prepare for the session, more so as he would be traveling from Port Harcourt to Abuja.
But a competent source in the National Assembly confided in THE WHISTLER on Friday, that the Presidency may have objected to the decision of the House to oversee the running of the affairs of the state.
“The Presidency actually asked the House to back down on the mission for the simple reason that the President has continued to insist on the Administrator reporting directly to the FEC, which is chaired by the President himself.
“If the National Assembly is to oversee affairs in Rivers State, membership of the ad hoc legislative committee would have been jointly empanelled with members from both the Senate and the House.
“The leadership of the Senate had rightly guaged President Tinubu’s body language concerning who oversees the affairs of the Rivers Administrator.
“That is why the Senate did not nominate any of its members into the panel to avoid potential clash with the Presidency,” the source said.
Meanwhile, there has been a deluge of complaints over the running of the state under the Administrator, especially the dismantling of existing public and democratic structures.
They cited the sacking of commissioners, political appointees and top civil servants in the Rivers bureaucracy.
Similarly, the sacking of the Caretaker chairmen in the 23 local governments in the state, and the replacement of the chairman of the state’s Electoral Commission have continued to raise concerns as to the motives behind the Administrator’s actions.
Observers and civil society groups have accused the Administrator of acting beyond his briefs by usurping both executive and legislative functions in the state.
A source in the House of Representatives hinted that these were some of the anomalies the 21-member panel wanted to address when it summoned the Administrator.
The source, who craved anonymity for lack of authorisation to make public comments on the matter, said it’s apparent the House has washed its hands off the Rivers affairs.
“There is more to the indefinite postponement of the interactive session between the Reps panel and the Rivers Administrator than what is being served the public.
“The indefinite postponement, as announced by the House, may as well be ad infinitum. It’s a clever way of saying that Rivers is a no-go-area for the federal legislature.
Emergency Rule: Why House Of Reps Rescheduled Rivers Administrator’s Summon is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
