The Ad-Hoc Committee of the House of Representatives on Rivers State has rescheduled its interactive session with the Administrator of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.).
In a statement signed by Reps spokesman, Akin Rotimi, on Thursday, the meeting earlier scheduled for today, April 17, 2025, at 4:00 PM, has been postponed.
However, the Reps Committee is yet to fix a new date for the meeting, saying that the public will be notified of the rescheduled date as soon as it is fixed.
According to the statement, the change in time followed a formal request from Ibas.
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“The Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State Oversight has received a formal request from the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to reschedule the interactive session initially set for today, April 17, 2025, at 4:00 PM.
“The Committee has acknowledged the request and is in the process of coordinating a new date for the session, and will, in the spirit of transparent and effective oversight, promptly inform the public once the rescheduled date is confirmed,” the statement read.
On March 18, 2025, President Bola Tinubu imposed an emergency rule on oil-rich Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara; his deputy Ngozi Odu; and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months.
The President immediately nominated Ibas as administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the first six months.
The President relied on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to make the proclamation. The section interprets a state of emergency as a situation of national danger, disaster or terrorist attacks in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures to regain control.
In about 48 hours, the National Assembly ratified the president’s emergency rule decision despite stiff opposition to the move.
The suspension of Fubara and other democratically elected representatives was expressly rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, and groups including a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, and a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
Others are the founder of Stanbic IBTC bank, Atedo Peterside; a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; a senior advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana; the LP, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Nigerian Bar Association, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), among others.
