The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed that it received a petition calling for the probe of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the former Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
Civil rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, submitted the petition on September 23, a few days after Ibas left office on September 18.
ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, told The PUNCH on Thursday in Abuja that the petition had been forwarded to the commission’s legal department for review.
“Yes, we have received the petition and will look at its merit. It has a process. We receive it at the registry, the chairman gets it, and he forwards it for a legal opinion,” Bakare said.
In his petition titled “Petition for the investigation into the financial expenditure of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), former Sole Administrator of Rivers State,” Adeyanju asked the ICPC to urgently investigate how Rivers’ federal allocations were spent during Ibas’s administration between March 18 and September 17, 2025.
Citing figures from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Adeyanju claimed that Rivers State received a total of N283.3bn under Ibas, excluding internally generated revenue.
He explained that this included N36.6bn in local government allocations withheld in January and February 2025, and another N246.7bn in allocations between March and June 2025.
Despite these huge sums, Adeyanju alleged there was little to show in terms of development.
“Aside from the cosmetic renovation and painting of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex, the people of Rivers State saw no tangible projects or developmental efforts to justify the expenditure of such colossal sums,” he wrote.
He also accused the administration of failing to publish the mandatory budget performance report for the second quarter of 2025. Adeyanju criticised Ibas for insisting that he was only answerable to the President and the National Assembly.
“Disturbingly, the administration under Ibas failed to publish the mandatory budget performance reports. Equally troubling are his recent statements dismissing the authority of the Rivers State House of Assembly to probe his financial conduct,” Adeyanju said.
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The activist urged the ICPC to investigate possible misappropriation and abuse of office.
“We trust in the commission’s mandate and commitment to combating corruption and safeguarding public resources, and we respectfully urge you to give this petition urgent attention,” he added.
Last week, Ibas met President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock in a closed-door meeting that also had the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, and Finance Minister, Wale Edun, in attendance. The Presidency has not issued a statement on the purpose of that meeting.
The meeting came just days after Ibas rejected calls by the Rivers State House of Assembly to probe how funds were spent during his six months in office.