With just four days to the September 18 deadline for the lifting of the emergency rule in Rivers State, Sole Administrator Vice Admiral Ibok–Ette Ekwe Ibas (rtd.) is preparing to bow out with both prayers and reforms.
Ibas, who has steered the state’s affairs for the past six months, has announced a massive Thanksgiving service to mark the end of his tenure.
The interdenominational service will be held at the Ecumenical Centre, Abonnema Wharf Road, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, September 18, at 10:00 a.m. According to Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Lucky Worika, the event will draw traditional rulers, heads of security agencies, local government chairmen, captains of industry, and top government officials.
On Friday, the outgoing administrator inaugurated a new Rivers State Pensions Board with a firm charge to fix what he described as a broken system. For years, pensioners in the state have suffered delayed payments and endless bureaucracy.
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“Today’s event is not just ceremonial; it is a reaffirmation of our government’s commitment to ensuring that those who have labored faithfully in the service of our dear state are treated with the dignity, respect, and care they truly deserve,” Ibas said during the inauguration at Government House.
He lamented the neglect retirees have faced, stressing that the new board must draw a line under years of frustration. “The board must be a model of good governance. Excuses will not be entertained. Our pensioners have waited long enough, expectations are high, and the time to deliver is now.”
Ibas explained that the ongoing state-wide re-verification exercise has already uncovered major lapses in the old system, and that the newly appointed board was chosen to restore confidence and ensure prompt, transparent payments.
Only last week, Ibas declared that he had “sufficiently achieved” the mandate handed to him by President Bola Tinubu, stabilising the state and restoring democratic governance at the grassroots level.
“For once, an election was conducted where nobody was harassed, where people went out freely to express themselves and to select whom they wanted as their leaders,” he said of the recent council polls.
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