A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, issued a restraining order on Tuesday, preventing the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, from appointing sole administrators to manage the 23 local council areas in the state.
The court order was made in a case filed under Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/46/2025 by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, led by Courage Nsirimovu, against the Sole Administrator in his official capacity.
The ex parte motion, filed on March 28, 2025, sought several reliefs, with the primary request being an interim injunction to restrain the respondent or his agents from appointing a sole administrator or any other title for the 23 local government areas.
The motion also included a request for any additional orders deemed appropriate in the circumstances.
Justice Adamu Turaki, the presiding judge, found sufficient grounds to grant the reliefs and set April 14, 2025, for further hearing.
The tenures of the elected local council chairmen, who served under former Governor Nyesom Wike, expired in June 2023, though they obtained term extensions through the support of 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike.
After the expiration of their terms, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara dissolved the councils and appointed caretaker chairmen.
Both political factions started vying for control over the local governments, knowing their significant role in the political power structure of the state and beyond.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had scheduled local elections for October 5, 2024, but the Wike-backed faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took RSIEC to court.
Despite the lawsuit, the election proceeded as planned.
When the case concluded at the Supreme Court on February 28, 2025, in favor of the Wike-backed APC led by Tony Okocha, the governor removed the previously elected chairmen, who had been nullified, and instructed heads of local council administration to oversee affairs until a fresh election was held.
This move was opposed by Okocha and the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of defected lawmakers, who launched an effort to remove the RSIEC chairman.
It was at this juncture that a State of Emergency was declared and a sole administrator was appointed.
Fearing that the Sole Administrator might appoint caretakers to oversee the LGAs in a manner inconsistent with the constitution, the lawsuit became the most viable legal recourse.
