Emergency Rule: How Ibas Spent Over N320bn In Six Months — Rivers Govt.

By Olumuyiwa Olumuyiwa

 

The Rivers government has said more than N302billion was spent within a spate of six months under the watch of Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator of the state.

 

The Rivers State Accountant-General and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning made this disclosure at the High Court of in Port Harcourt.

 

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) reported in its press statement that the response from the Accountant General of the oil rich state was supplied to a freedom of Information lawsuit it filed.

 

 

 

The suit, marked PHC/4153/CS/2025, is pending before S.H. Aprioku, judge of the Rivers state high court.

 

 

According to a counter-affidavit dated March 10, 2026, the state received over N253.48 billion from the federation account allocation committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025.

 

The affidavit said

 

Providing a detailed  breakdown of the spending during Ibas stint as sole administrator in an affidavit  the total funds received during the period, including other revenues, amounted to about N298.35 billion.

Documents attached as evidence include bank statements and capital expenditure pages of the government house estimate.

 

 

The documents, marked exhibit DTI and exhibit DT2, run into 49 pages.

 

 

“Our records show that ₦28 billion was approved for the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) at the State House but no expenditure was incurred in respect of the project,” the affidavit reads.

 

“Therefore, no document evidencing such expenditure can be provided.”

 

The affidavit added that the state government did not contest SERAP’s right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act.

 

 

 

“The Defendants/Respondents do not contest SERAP’s right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act and has no intention whatsoever of withholding the requested documents,” it said.

 

“The Defendants/Respondents have now compiled and made available the requested information in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

 

“By furnishing the documents requested, the Defendants/Respondents have substantially complied with SERAP’s demand.”

 

 

 

Speaking on the findings of the human rights organization, the deputy director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, noted that the available financial documents detailing the expenditure are being reviewed for proper analysis in due time.

 

“We are studying the large documents on the spending of the over ₦302 billion of FAAC allocations and other funds by the Rivers State government between March and August 2025,” Oluwadare said.

 

 

“Our teams are analysing the spending project-by-project and we will decide whether our requests for information have been fully complied with or whether a fresh request for information or an amendment to our originating processes is necessary.”

 

He said the records revealed multiple transfers to government house ranging from N1.8 million to N4.27 billion.

 

 

 

The documents also show several payments, including N61.9 million, N122 million, N170 million, N389 million, N750 million, N850 million and N900 million.

 

Oluwadare said a single transfer of N4.27 billion was recorded in August 2025. He said the records indicate that N112.41 billion was spent on salaries, pensions, and overheads.

 

Oluwadare added that N163.44 billion was allocated to ministries, departments, and agencies.

 

He said more than N106 billion of the amount allocated to MDAs was disbursed in August alone. The documents also show that N26.01 billion was spent on servicing loans.

 

Oluwadare said about N491.59 million was spent on bank charges during the period. He added that more than N2.5 billion was released for the construction of the government house quarters.

 

According to the records, about N1.1 billion of the amount was reflected as actual spending. The exhibits also show a revised allocation of N2.67 billion for office building repairs.

 

The records indicate that about N404 million was spent on the project. The documents also show an allocation of N350 million for canteen and kitchen equipment. They also reveal that more than N463 million was spent on rehabilitation projects.

 

According to the records, a project initially budgeted at N800 million was increased to N1.56 billion. The documents show that the closing balance in the account as of August 2025 stood at N19.93 billion.

 

SERAP is asking the court to determine whether it is entitled to access the requested information under the constitution and the Freedom of Information Act.

 

The suit was filed on October 31, 2025, against the Rivers state accountant-general and the ministry of budget and economic planning.

 

Aprioku adjourned the case to May 19, 2026, for further hearing.

 

Recall that President Bola Tinubu on March 18 declared a state of emergency in Rivers State as following a protracted crisis that turned the state into a battlegrounds for the factions of the polarised People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

 

Tinubu also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu and all members of the state assembly for an initial period of six months.

 

Ibas, who is a retired naval officer, was appointed by Tinubu to be at the helm in the oil-rich state while the emergency rule lasted.

 

 

At exactly six months when it became obvious that the warring factions had sheathed their swords, Tinubu ended the emergency rule and Fubara resume as governor of the state the following day.

 

Immediately after the emergency rule, the Rivers lawmakers resolved during a plenary session to investigate the management of the state’s finances during under Ibas but the sole administrator kicked against the resolution of the state assembly.