National Coordinator of the South-South Elders Forum in Rivers State, Anabs Sara-Igbe, has criticised the recent tenure of sole administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas, describing the intervention as unnecessary and harmful to the state’s interests.
Sara-Igbe made this known when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
According to him, the rationale for Ibas’ appointment was flawed from the outset, as Rivers State was not facing the kind of crisis that would justify such a measure.
“I don’t know what job the administrator did because Rivers State had been very peaceful before he came, and it has been very peaceful till he left.
“If there is a need for emergency rule, I think that should be in Borno, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa and other parts of the country,” he said.
He also accused the former administrator of exploiting the state’s wealth without bringing any benefits to its citizens.
“Somebody who is not from Rivers State came in and plundered our resources without any significant development in the state,” he added.
When asked if the feuding parties had truly buried the hatchet, Sara-Igbe answered in the affirmative and insisted this was the only path to progress.
“Sim (Fubara) is his boy, and they are going to make peace, so Rivers’ people are very happy that Sim and Wike have met and resolved their differences, and to that extent, the assembly has also met with Sim, and they have resolved their differences.
“So we believe peace has returned, and we want to sustain that peace. We want Sim to reach out to that assembly once again and to Wike and everybody that is close to him to ensure that there is peace in the state, cause that is the only way development can go around in the state,” he said.
“Where there is no peace, there cannot be development. We have all seen and they have learnt their lessons; both parties have learnt their lessons because of the crisis.”
Rivers: Emergency rule flawed from start – Sara-Igbe
