Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd.), has cancelled all pending Procurement and Tender Processes initiated by the suspended administration of Governor Siminialayi Fubara.
Ibas also ordered all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that participated in any pending procurement and tender in 2025, to refund the fees already collected.
He promised that the state would soon have a new 2025 budget.
Three weeks ago, the state House of Assembly initiated an impeachment process against the now suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and and his deputy, Prof. (Mrs.) Ngozi Odu, citing the failure to present the 2025 budget proposal to the parliament as one reasons for its move.
However, the next day, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on the troubled state, suspending the executive and legistative arms of government, and appointing Ibas as Sole Administrator for six months, in the first instance.
According to a statement by Secretary to the Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika on Thursday, the administrator noted that the decision followed the absence of a budget in the state for the fiscal year, as also decided by the Supreme Court in its verdict on logjam in the state.
The statement read: ‘In adherence to the Supreme Court judgement upholding the Appeal Court ruling in Suit No. CA/ABJ/CV/133/2024 and in the absence of an Appropriation Law, the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral (retd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, wishes to notify the general public that all procurement and tender processes that were carried out by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, during the period are hereby cancelled.
‘Accordingly, all MDAs that carried out such tender processes for projects in their respective offices are, by this special announcement, mandated to refund such tender fees to the respective contractors immediately, pending the approval of a spending plan by the state, which shall be notified in due course’.
Also, during a meeting on Thursday, held at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, with a delegation from the state caucus in the National Assembly, Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff, said that the budget would prioritise education, healthcare, social services, and infrastructural development.
He further said: ‘In addition to our peace-building efforts, we are also focused on the economic stability and development of Rivers State.
‘Since the Supreme Court verdict on the state’s budget, we have acted swiftly and decided to put together a new budget that reflects our commitment to healthcare, education, social services, and continued infrastructural development.
‘We have worked diligently to ensure that the process is transparent, inclusive, and, most importantly, expedited.
‘Our goal is to ensure that we do not lose any more time in making the necessary investments that will improve the lives of citizens’.
He said that the lawmakers’ partnership with the state is critical for Rivers to ‘remain on the path of progress and enduring peace for future generations’.
The delegation, led by Senator Barinada Mpigi, who represents Rivers South-East district, included Senator Allwell Onyesoh (Rivers East district), and Hon. Kingsley Chinda (Minority Leader of the House of Representatives).
Other House of Representatives members from the state at the meeting are Hon. Dumnamene Dekor, Hon. Solomon Bob, Hon. Cyril Godwin Hart, Hon. Blessing Amadi, Hon. Felix Nwaeke, Hon. Kelechi Nwogu, and Hon. Victor Obuzor.
Mpigi said that the National Assembly members would support all peace and development efforts in the
The Fubara administration, which was inaugurated on 29 May 2023, was less than eight months in office when the state assembly became polarised into two factions.
In December 2023, Fubara presented an N800 billion budget estimate for 2024 to a five-member House of Assembly led by Hon. Edison Ehie. There are 32 members in the House.
Barely 24 hours after, the governor signed the 2024 appropriation bill into law.
Justice James Omotoso, the presiding judge, also barred the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant-General of the Federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers state.
He ordered Fubara to re-present the budget to the ‘legally’ constituted house of assembly.
In October 2024, a Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgement of the lower court, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court on 28 February.
In January, Fubara mirrored the 2023 incident by presenting a N1.18 trillion appropriation bill to four members of the House and signing it into law within 72 hours.
Last month, Ibas said the withheld Federation Account Allocation Committee funds had been released to the state.
