By Chinelo Obogo
Retired Chief of Naval Staff Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas has been appointed as the new Military Administrator of Rivers State following President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency.
Born on 27 September 1960 in Nko, Cross River State, Mr Ibas began his primary education at Nko Primary School in 1966 and completed it at Big Qua Primary School, Calabar, in 1971. He then attended Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, from 1972 to 1976. In 1977, he enrolled at the School of Basic Studies, Ogoja, before gaining admission to the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in 1979.
He served in the Nigerian Navy for over four decades, from 1979 to 2021, rising through the ranks to become Nigeria’s 22nd Chief of Naval Staff (2015–2021). During his career, he attended numerous local and international military training programmes, including the Amphibious Warfare School, U.S. Marine Corps University, Virginia (1992), and the National Defence College, Islamabad, Pakistan. He also earned a Master’s degree in Defence and Strategic Studies from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
At 64, Mr Ibas assumes leadership of Rivers State amid a political crisis marked by hostilities between Governor Sim Fubara and former Governor Nyesom Wike.