The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed that it will investigate the financial activities of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), during his time as Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
The development follows a petition over his handling of federal allocations during the six-month emergency rule in the state.
Confirming the development on Thursday in Abuja, ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare said the commission had received a formal petition and forwarded it to its legal department for review as part of preliminary steps toward a full investigation.
“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.
The petition, submitted on September 23, 2025, by civil rights advocate and lawyer Deji Adeyanju, is titled “Petition for the Investigation into the Financial Expenditure of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), Former Sole Administrator of Rivers State.”
It calls on the ICPC to urgently examine how federal funds were managed during Ibas’s administration, which lasted from March 18 to September 17, 2025.
Citing figures from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Adeyanju alleged that Rivers State received a total of ₦283.3 billion during the period, excluding internally generated revenue. The amount, according to the petition, included ₦36.6 billion in withheld local government allocations for January and February 2025 and ₦246.7 billion in state and local government allocations between March and June 2025.
Despite the huge inflow, Adeyanju claimed that there was “little or no evidence” of significant developmental projects executed under Ibas.
“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,” the petition read.
The petition further accused the former administrator of failing to publish the mandatory budget performance reports for the second quarter of 2025 and criticised his insistence that he was accountable only to the President and the National Assembly — not the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“Disturbingly, the administration under Ibas failed to publish the mandatory budget performance reports for the second quarter of 2025. Equally troubling are recent statements credited to him, dismissing the authority of the Rivers State House of Assembly to probe his financial conduct. He insists that because he was appointed by the President and supervised by the National Assembly, he was only answerable to the President and the National Assembly,” Adeyanju wrote.
The activist urged the ICPC to investigate how the funds were spent, determine whether there was misappropriation or abuse of office, and hold Ibas accountable if any wrongdoing is established.
“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.
It can be recalled that Ibas met with President Bola Tinubu behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa last Wednesday, alongside Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ola Olukoyede and Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun. The meeting took place three days after Ibas rejected a call by the Rivers State House of Assembly to probe spending during his tenure.