The Rivers State Executive Council has cancelled a ₦134 billion contract awarded by the former sole administrator of the state, Vice Admiral Ikot Ete Ibas (retd), for the reconstruction of the State Secretariat complex in Port Harcourt.
The contract, which was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) during the period of emergency rule under Ibas, was nullified by the Council at its meeting on Thursday.
Following the cancellation, the Council directed CCECC to refund the ₦20 billion mobilisation fee already paid for the project.
In addition, the Council approved the formation of a six-member committee chaired by Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu to assess and recommend suitable locations for the construction of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the state to support external examinations.
The Council also tasked the state’s flood control committee, also headed by Odu, to take urgent steps to mitigate flooding in affected areas, urging residents to refrain from blocking drainage channels.
Previously, SaharaReporters’ review of data published by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Rivers State, under the leadership of former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd), received N401.9 billion during his time in charge.
The payments were made to the state by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
When Ibas assumed office, the Nigerian government also released N36.6 billion in local government allocations for two months to him.
The funds represented allocations for January and February 2025 for 23 local governments, which had earlier been withheld and not released to the now reinstated Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
According to the breakdown based on official figures published on the websites of the Accountant General of the Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics, in August, Local Government Areas in the state received N19.2 billion, while the state received N41.6 billion.
The amount received in July stood at N18.8 billion for LGAs, while the state received N39 billion.
In June 2025, the state received N42.3 billion, while local governments got N18.8 billion.
In May, the state received N42.7 billion, while local governments got N16 billion. The April disbursement stood at N44.4 billion for the state and N19.4 billion for local governments.
Statistics also showed that in March, the state government received N44.6 billion, while local governments got N18.5 billion.
Earlier, a review of FAAC data revealed that N36.6 billion was disbursed as local government allocations to Rivers State for January and February 2025.
According to the data, N16.7 billion was allocated in January, while N19.9 billion was released in February.
Ibas had kicked against a probe of his administration’s expenditure.
He was reported to have made the statements while reacting to the House of Assembly’s move to probe expenditure under his tenure, Ibas was quoted as saying that lawmakers lacked the power to investigate him, pointing out that they did not appoint him as Administrator of the State.
He made the comments through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubu.
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