Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, has appointed administrators for all 23 Local Government Areas in the state, despite a Federal High Court order reportedly restraining him from doing so.

The court order, issued on Tuesday by Justice Adam Muhammed in Port Harcourt, followed a suit filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative challenging Ibas’ authority to make such appointments.

Just hours after the ruling, the appointments were announced in a government statement released Wednesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika. The appointments and reconstitution of suspended boards of agencies and commissions take immediate effect.

In a related development, Ibas also cancelled all ongoing procurement and tender processes across state MDAs, citing the absence of an appropriation law and recent Supreme Court rulings. He directed that any fees collected during the cancelled tenders be refunded to contractors.