Coalition Reacts as Rivers’ Sole Administrator Implements Reps’ Directives on Civil Servants

• The Coalition for Civil Service Reforms (CCSR) has commended Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.), sole administrator of Rivers state, for implementing reforms that prioritise workers’ welfare
• The group also welcomed the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee’s directive for urgent renovation of the state secretariat
• Meanwhile, APC chieftain Ahmad Abba Dangata said President Bola Tinubu may lift the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara by next month

Port Harcourt, Rivers state – The Coalition for Civil Service Reforms (CCSR) has applauded Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.), Sole Administrator of Rivers state, for what it described as life-saving reforms in the state’s civil service, barely three days after the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee’s oversight visit.

In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Larry King Amos, the Coalition praised Ibas for prioritising workers’ welfare, noting that his interventions have restored hope among civil servants.

“For the first time in a long while, we are having a government who has brought succour and restored hope to the civil servants in Rivers state,” the statement read.

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Group lists Ibas’ achievements

The group highlighted the regular payment of salaries, infrastructural rehabilitation, and reform of decayed systems as key achievements under Ibas.

According to the Coalition, “such laudable interventions and welfare are responsible for the high spirits and great motivations of the civil servants, which is by extension, responsible for the peace, unity and harmonious relationship between the Labour Force and the state government, in the last few months.”

The Coalition also welcomed the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee’s directive for the urgent overhaul of the Rivers State Secretariat, which it described as an “answer to a decade-long prayer of workers.”

It noted that previous administrations failed to act despite repeated petitions about the deplorable state of the Secretariat and other civil service facilities.

The Committee, led by House Leader Professor Julius Ihonvbere, had compared the Secretariat to conditions “worse than facilities in war-torn Gaza,” pointing to leaking roofs, exposed wiring, structural cracks, and a lack of basic amenities.

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It consequently ordered the closure of unsafe floors and the immediate relocation of staff.

“We must, on a very serious note, appreciate the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee, for approving the urgent renovation of the State Secretariat. This intervention is not only timely, it is life saving,” the Coalition added.

With the backing of both the federal legislature and civil service advocacy groups, Ibas’s administration is being credited with stabilising the civil service and laying the foundations for long-term institutional reforms in Rivers state.

Tinubu may lift suspension on Rivers governor soon – APC chieftain

Meanwhile, a youth member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmad Abba Dangata, said on Saturday, August 31, that President Bola Tinubu may soon lift the suspension of Rivers state governor Siminalayi Fubara in the coming weeks.

Dangata, responding to a question from Legit.ng on the political situation in Rivers, said there were indications that the suspension would not extend beyond September.

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“Yes. He will soon lift (the suspension). There’s a source that the state emergency will expire next month,” Dangata told Legit.ng.

Fubara, who has been at the centre of a political crisis in Rivers state, was suspended earlier this year amid tensions with local political stakeholders. The dispute drew the intervention of the presidency, which has sought to mediate between rival factions to avoid instability in the oil-producing state.

Wike reveals date Fubara will return

In a related development, Nyesom Wike, the minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Saturday, August 30, revealed that the suspended governor of Rivers state, Fubara and members of the state House of Assembly will return on September 18, when the state of emergency in Rivers will elapse.

Wike stated this shortly after casting his vote in the August 30 local government election in the state.

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The former Rivers state governor described the election as very peaceful compared to other elections in the state.

Source: Legit.ng