By Chioma Obinna
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, a leading civil rights and pro-democracy group, has condemned the actions of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), the interim administrator appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to oversee Rivers State. It describes them as a “systematic and unconstitutional dismantling of democratic structures.”
In a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA accused Ibas of acting like “a bull in a China shop” by allegedly removing official portraits of Governor Siminalayi Fubara from public buildings and bypassing court orders to install unelected local council administrators.
“HURIWA and 36 other registered non-governmental organisations reject this unconstitutional overreach and systematic power grab by someone who should know better.
“Vice Admiral Ibas served Nigeria with distinction in the Navy. It is unfortunate that he is allowing himself to be used to destroy democracy in Rivers State.”
The group argued that Governor Fubara, having been duly elected and inaugurated, remains the legitimate and sitting governor of Rivers State.
It warned against any move undermining his authority or cutting his constitutional tenure short.
HURIWA’s outrage was further echoed by Ambassador Godknows Igali, a respected former top diplomat and permanent secretary, who described Ibas’s actions as “an embarrassing aberration to all men of goodwill and good conscience.”
“I witnessed the removal of Governor Fubara’s photograph at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
“On inquiry, I was told this directive came from the new administration and has been implemented in all government offices,” Igali said.
Igali also condemned the suspension of statutory bodies such as the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission and the Governing Councils of tertiary institutions.
“This undermines the core principles of constitutional democracy,” he said.
HURIWA further accused the administrator of openly flouting an extant order of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which barred the appointment of unelected local council officials. Despite the ruling, Ibas allegedly installed what HURIWA described as “Kangaroo administrators.”
Onwubiko warned that if not checked, Ibas’s actions could set a dangerous precedent.
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees local government autonomy and democratic governance at all levels,” he said, citing Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution.
“The appointment of unelected individuals to govern local councils is a gross violation of this constitutional provision.”
He also questioned the legality of the administrator’s recent appointment of new officials to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission while the tenures of the current commissioners remain active.
“On what legal basis does the sole administrator sack a statutory commission whose tenure hasn’t expired?” Onwubiko asked.
He added: “This partisan insanity must be halted now.”
HURIWA further called on the people of Rivers State and all democratic institutions to resist what it termed the “total and undemocratic takeover” of the state.
“The validly recognised sitting governor of Rivers State remains Mr. Siminalayi Fubara until the expiration of his constitutional tenure,” Onwubiko emphasised. “The President of Nigeria has no power to unseat a sitting governor. This affront to democracy must be reversed.”
The group urged Vice Admiral Ibas to reject his current “politically charged assignment” and preserve his legacy as a respected public servant.
“Rather than being remembered for his decades of meritorious military service, he risks being remembered as the man who helped destroy democracy in Rivers State,” HURIWA warned.
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