Chairman of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Rivers State Chapter, Chukwuka Osumah, has accused some permanent secretaries of compromising integrity during the six-month emergency regime in the state.

However, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onueze Okocha, cautioned the House of Assembly against probing the former sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd).

Osumah said it was sad that some top state workers compromised professionalism in pursuit of personal interests.

According to the chairman, the actions of the permanent secretaries during the emergency rule sabotaged Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state for selfish interests.

Some permanent secretaries, during the emergency rule, reportedly signed documents defrauding the state.

He condemned such misconduct and recommended disciplinary measures against such individuals by the governor to serve as a deterrent to others.

At the end of the emergency rule, some civil servants gave Ibas the ‘Best Workers-friendly’ award.

Upon return to the office, Fubara singled out a top civil servant at the Ministry of Works, Austin Ezekiel-Hart, and swore him in as permanent secretary. Fubara said he merited reappointment as a permanent secretary because he refused to aid illegality during the emergency rule.

SPEAKING with newsmen yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Okocha urged the lawmakers to focus on rebuilding the state through robust legislative commitments.

According to him, the house should channel its energy to accomplishing constitutional duties rather than probing.

Ibas served as Rivers’ Sole Administrator from March to September 2025, following the suspension of Fubara by Tinubu. Since he vacated office, there have been calls for an investigation into his administration.

But Okocha said plans by the lawmakers to review as well as probe the administrator’s spending during the rule were unnecessary. He said the probe could be misunderstood as a political witch-hunt, since he was only deployed to accomplish a task as directed by the President.

“I think Ibas deserves some honour and respect; it will be unkind if our lawmakers begin to talk about probing him, since they did not appoint him, nor was he reporting to them.

“As a concerned citizen of the state, my advice to the lawmakers is that they should ignore the plan of probing Ibas and allow the state to run peacefully along democratic lines. There is an urgent need for a harmonious relationship among the three arms of government, if we must move forward,” he said.

The former NBA boss, therefore, appealed to the lawmakers to preoccupy themselves with rebuilding harmonious relationships with the various arms of government to achieve democratic stability in the state. (The Guardian)

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