Some local council secretariats in Rivers State were burnt down right at noon by angry mobs protesting against the holding of local council elections on October 5, 2025.
Now, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, the Sole Administrator, says he is set to repair them within available financial resources.
The retired vice admiral expressed the commitment during an inspection tour to some ongoing road projects, vandalised secretariats of Local Government Councils, and the recently inaugurated Bori Zonal Hospital, on Friday.
Some of the road projects inspected included the Nyhokhana-Kenkhana Road connecting Luuwa to Baani communities and the Zakphor – Bateem Road, all in Khana LGA.
Others were the Eleme internal roads and drainages, and the Eleme section of the Port Harcourt Ring Road project.
Read also: Again, Rivers Sole Administrator confirms another Fubara project was adequately funded
The administrator also conducted assessment on the extent of vandalisation of the Khana and Eleme Local Government Council Secretariats.
Most of the secretariats were vandalized in broad daylight with police guarding them. Some of the secretariats share boundary with police posts, yet no arrest was made.
The burning of some facilities was recorded and shared in the social media. The faction of the APC in the state loyal to FCT Minister had vehemently opposed the election conducted by the Rivers State government led by Gov Sim Fubara, now suspended.
The Wike camp made of both the APC faction and the PDP mounted protests. The Minister was to blame the rioting on Gov Fubara for allegedly not obeying court order asking the election to stop. He did not condemn the destructions.
On the other hand, the Wike camp accused the Governor of having a hand in the burning of the auditorium of the Rivers State House of Assembly which is now being reconstructed. In all, Rivers money is being devoted to reconstructing what was being destroyed when most other states were moving to construction of new facilities.
Now, Ibas is set to rebuild the secretariats. It is not clear if he has commissioned inquiry into the burning of the secretariats to identify the culprits who were openly seen in videos.
He has however described as disheartening the level of destruction and said that when people destroy such infrastructure, no matter the reason, they set the state back.
The retired vice admiral stated: “I think we owe the people the duty to ensure that these facilities and infrastructure are in the best order.
“We have made a commitment to fixing most of these vandalised infrastructural facilities with the limited resources that we have. It is a commitment I think we need to deliver to enable those who are using them return to work.
“I think that by the time I go visiting the other local governments and see what we have on ground, we will see how we can continue to build trust in our efforts to unite the people of Rivers State, so that we can make this State a great state that people would want to be in.”
Ibas recalled his recent visit to the State House of Assembly and promised that it would be completed on time to enable that arm of government start functioning.
The Administrator noted that there is a lot of work to be done, saying it requires the support of all leaders at various levels to ensure that desirable governance is delivered to the people.
He said: “Within the limited resources made available to the local government, I want to implore those who are managing those resources to put them to judicious use.
“The people are watching. They want to know exactly what we are doing with their money. We need to limit the damage that is being created through delivering good governance. I think, once the people are happy with what we are doing, the chances of them taking laws in their hands will be minimized.”
Commenting on the ongoing road projects, Ibas said roads were critical infrastructure for development and enhanced commerce in any society, which is why he said such provision cannot be compromised.
The retired vice admiral stated: “The more roads we have, the more commerce – I mean, the means of commuting becomes easy. We are trying to create wealth. Without roads, of course, sometimes, you have your produce, before you move them to the market place, they are all rotten.
He called for responsible use of the roads when they are ready.
