Politician and lawyer Kenneth Okonkwo has called for an investigation into the tenure of Ibok Ekwe Ibas, the immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, accusing him of mismanaging public funds during a politically turbulent period in the state.
Okonkwo, a former Nollywood actor and spokesperson for the Labour Party’s presidential campaign, made the remarks on Monday while appearing on Sunrise Daily, a current affairs programme on Channels Television.
Criticising the federal intervention in Rivers State during its internal political crisis, Okonkwo argued that external figures were imposed to take control of the state’s resources under the guise of resolving a “state of emergency.”
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“This state of emergency in Rivers State was uncalled for. All of them were from the same political family, whether Wike or Fubara. So it was unnecessary,” he said. “They should learn, and every other state should learn. When you are disunited in your state, strangers will be brought in to siphon your resources.”
Okonkwo expressed concern that none of the key decision-makers during the crisis were indigenes of Rivers State, naming President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, and Ibas as outsiders influencing the state’s affairs.
“All these people are aliens to Rivers State,” he said. “And they have come to siphon the resources of Rivers State. N22 billion was budgeted to put CCTV in the State House in Rivers; Ibas should be probed.”
He urged Rivers people, and Nigerians at large, to be wary of internal divisions that could open the door for external political influence and exploitation.
