A former Senator, Lee Maeba, has criticised the six-month emergency rule in Rivers State under Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), describing the situation as dire and damaging to the state, as reported by Punch on Monday, 15 September, 2025.
Speaking in an interview, Maeba said Rivers lost huge amounts of money during the period.
He claimed that both federal allocations and internally generated revenue were spent without accountability.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu must also be held responsible because the decision to suspend Governor Siminalayi Fubara was taken under his authority.
The former senator argued that the administrator, who was appointed to restore peace, instead became involved in politics and controlled state funds as if he were an elected governor.
He said this move disrespected the people of Rivers and undermined democracy.
Maeba questioned how a sitting governor could be suspended and replaced without constitutional backing.
He stressed that there is no provision in the Constitution that allows a President to suspend an elected governor.
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He accused the National Assembly of failing in its duty by supporting the decision.
He warned that those who backed the emergency rule would one day face the consequences.
He prayed that what happened in Rivers would not be repeated in any other state in Nigeria.
The senator further alleged that the state of emergency was not necessary, as Rivers was not facing insecurity at the time.
He claimed the intervention was politically motivated and designed to control state resources.
Maeba called for a full probe into how money was managed during the six months of emergency rule.
He insisted that all funds received by the state must be accounted for, and that the administrator acted without constitutional powers.
According to him, Rivers people will not forget the episode and will continue to demand accountability for the resources lost during the period.
“Rivers State has lost so much money, and we have to account for it. President Bola Tinubu has to account for our money. We have lost a huge amount of money. Six months of allocation, Internally Generated Revenue, and all other statutory earnings, I mean.
And what has happened to Rivers is not gone. We will stand up to demand all the money that came to the state and the power of the Administrator to just jump into a state and start spending state money in the name of an emergency that does not exist,” he said…Explore , More , News
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