The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed receipt of a petition seeking an investigation into the management of federal allocations to Rivers State during the six-month tenure of former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.).
The petition, submitted on September 23, 2025, by civil rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, was acknowledged by ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare in Abuja on Thursday. He said 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 told newsmen.
Adeyanju alleged that Rivers State received a total of N283.3bn under Ibas’s administration between March and September 2025, excluding internally generated revenue. The sum included N36.6bn in local government allocations for January and February that had been previously withheld, and N246.7bn in state and local government allocations between March and June.
Despite these inflows, the activist claimed there was little evidence of meaningful development in the state. “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 stated.
He also accused Ibas of failing to publish the mandatory budget performance reports for the second quarter of 2025, and of dismissing the authority of the Rivers State House of Assembly to scrutinize his administration’s finances.
Adeyanju urged the ICPC to investigate possible misappropriation, abuse of office, or diversion of funds, stressing the need for accountability.
The petition came just days after Ibas left office on September 18. On September 24, he held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, alongside EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede and Finance Minister Wale Edun. The Presidency has not disclosed details of the meeting.
Ibas had earlier rejected calls by the Rivers State House of Assembly to probe his administration, insisting he was only accountable to the President and the National Assembly.