From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Rivers State has summoned the Sole Administrator, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas ( retd) to appear before it on Thursday.
The House, in a statement by the spokesman, Akin Rotimi, on Wednesday, said Ibas is expected to brief the lawmakers on the state of affairs in Rivers.
President Bola Tinubu, on March 18, declared emergency rule in Rivers State, suspended the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Ngozi Odu and the State House of Assembly, over the political crisis in the oil rich state.
Consequently, President Tinubu also appointed Ibas as sole administrator of the state for the during period of the Emergency Rule.
The two chambers of the National Assembly later approved the Emergency Rule amid controversy over the resort to voice voting by the lawmakers for the approval.
On Tuesday, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, inaugurated a 21-man panel to oversight Rivers State while the Emergency Rule subsists.
Abbas, who stated that Ibas must operate with transparency and accountability, said the Ad-hoc Committee is “to monitor the implementation of federal directives and policies in Rivers State, ensure that the caretaker administration adheres to the law, and protect the public interest while facilitating the re-establishment of full democratic governance in the state.”
Rotimi noted that at its inaugural meeting, the panel “resolved, among other matters, to invite Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, to appear before it for a comprehensive interactive session.”