With hopes high that President Bola Tinubu will lift the emergency rule in Rivers State and recall suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Democracy Day, June 12, the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), is not showing signs that his sojourn in the state will soon end.
On Tuesday, Governor Fubara was reported to be in a closed-door meeting with Tinubu, with their discussion likely to be on the situation in Rivers State and his likely recall from suspension.
However, the sole administrator who has been severally accused of overreaching himself by allegedly acting more than his mandate announced the appointment of 11 permanent secretaries
In a terse statement by the acting Head of Service, Mrs. Inyingi Brown, she said Ibas, has approved the appointment of the 11 permanent secretaries.
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The newly appointed permanent secretaries are Imaonyani Ephraim-George, Mina Ikuru, Dabite George, Soibitein Harry, Lauretta Dimkpa, Uche Ideozu, and Chimenum Mpi
Others include Jeremiah Egwu, Nicholas Wokoma, Vera Dike, and Aleruchi Akani
The statement said the newly appointed permanent secretaries will be sworn in by the administrator on a date to be announced.
The administrator had earlier dissolved all agencies, boards, and commissions set up by Gov. Fubara.
He also appointed a new secretary to the state government and acting head of service, among others.
Observers see the appointments and other sundry actions by the administrator as a deliberate plot to narrow the choices and freedom of the governor on return to operate with flexibility.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Tinubu as the Democracy Day is fast approaching.
Will the president’s Democracy Day broadcast usher a new dawn in Rivers State and restore democratic institutions suspended since March 18, 2025?