Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Tuesday night in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State Assembly for six months.

The president cited the prolonged political crisis in the oil-rich state as the reason for his action.

The feud between Mr Fubara and his successor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, triggered the political crises in the state.

In a nationwide broadcast, Mr Tinubu announced Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice admiral, as the state administrator following Mr Fubara’s removal.

Mr Ibas, a retired vice admiral in the Nigerian Navy, hails from Cross River State in the south-south geopolitical zone.

Born on 27 September 1960, Mr Ibas was the Nigerian high commissioner to Ghana, according to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

One of Nigeria’s most decorated military officers, Mr Ibas, is an alumnus of the Nigerian Defence Academy and has attended courses within and outside the country.

Before being appointed the Nigerian ambassador to Ghana, Mr Ibas was Nigeria’s chief of naval staff, the highest office in the country’s navy.

Mr Ibas joined the Nigerian military in 1979 and was commissioned as an officer in 1983.

The new Rivers administrator retired from the military in January 2021.