Ex NBA President, Okocha advises Rivers assembly against probing Ibas

By Jude Opara

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onueze Okocha, SAN, has cautioned the Rivers House of Assembly against probing the ex-sole administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas.
Mr Okocha, while speaking on Monday in Port Harcourt, urged them to focus on rebuilding the state through robust legislative commitments.
He said the House should channel its energy to accomplishing constitutional duties rather than probing Mr Ibas.
The former NBA president said plans by the members to review and probe the ex-administrator’s spending during the six-month emergency rule were unnecessary.
Okocha said that if the probe were carried out, it could be misunderstood as a witch hunt since he was only deployed to accomplish a task as directed by President Bola Tinubu.
“I think Ibas deserved some honour and respect; it will be unkind if our lawmakers begin to talk about probing him since they did not appoint him, nor was he reporting to them.
“As a concerned citizen of the state, my advice to the lawmakers is that they should ignore the plan of probing Ibas and allow the state to run peacefully along democratic lines.
“There’s an urgent need for a harmonious relationship amongst the three arms of government, the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, if we must move forward,” he said.
The former NBA boss, therefore, appealed to the lawmakers to preoccupy themselves with rebuilding harmonious relationships with the various arms of government to achieve democratic stability in the state.