{"id":7174,"date":"2025-09-14T18:02:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=7174"},"modified":"2025-09-14T18:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:02:15","slug":"ibas-charges-rivers-indigenes-to-shun-political-rivalry-self-interest-embrace-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/ibas-charges-rivers-indigenes-to-shun-political-rivalry-self-interest-embrace-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Ibas charges\u00a0 Rivers indigenes to shun political rivalry, self-interest, embrace Unity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Our Correspondent<\/div>\n
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Outgoing Rivers State Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has appealed to the people of Rivers State to shun political rivalry, bitterness and self-interest to forge a united path toward peace and sustainable development.<\/div>\n
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The Sole Administrator made the call on Sunday while speaking at an Inter-Denominational Church Thanksgiving Service held at the Ecumenical Centre in Port Harcourt.<\/div>\n
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The service was part of official events marking the state’s transition back to democratic governance following the recent peaceful local government elections.<\/div>\n
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Reflecting on the last six months, Administrator Ibas stated that his administration had \u201cdeliberately sowed seeds of love and peace,\u201d which now require the collective nurturing of all Rivers people to flourish.<\/div>\n
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He recounted the profound challenges the state faced, noting that it was \u201ctorn by divisions, instability, and broken trust\u201d before the intervention of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.<\/div>\n
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\u201cBy God\u2019s grace, and with the support of Mr. President and all of you, we have walked through those difficult days together,\u201d Ibas stated. \u201cThe survival and relative stability we enjoy today is a testimony of God\u2019s faithfulness.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In a firm address to the political class, the Administrator admonished political actors to \u201cshed their swords,\u201d declaring that no political victory or personal gain is worth the blood of any Rivers citizen.<\/div>\n
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He emphatically stated that \u201cthe progress and prosperity of Rivers State must be placed above personal or partisan interest,\u201d and that \u201cpolitics must never be an excuse to destroy the very state we are called to serve.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Administrator Ibas also directed a message to the youth, urging them not to be used as instruments of violence but to instead channel their energies into building a peaceful and prosperous state. He further called on community leaders, elders, and religious figures to continue providing guidance, wisdom, and prayers for the continued stability of Rivers State.<\/div>\n
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Attributing the modest achievements of his administration to a triumvirate of support, he expressed profound gratitude: \u201cOn this Thanksgiving Day, I thank God Almighty for His mercy. I thank Mr. President for his leadership and unwavering support. I thank every Rivers man and woman for their patience, support, and understanding through the last six months.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The sermon was delivered by the Chaplain of the Chapel of Everlasting Grace, Government House, Pastor Barasin Ogan. Speaking on the theme of \u201cGrateful Heart,\u201d Pastor Ogan echoed the Administrator\u2019s call for unity, urging citizens to let go of the past and work synergistically to build a better Rivers State.<\/div>\n
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The service featured scripture readings by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Lucky Worika, and special prayers were offered for the Administrator, his team, and the continued peace and prosperity of Rivers State<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Our Correspondent Outgoing Rivers State Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has appealed to the people of Rivers State to shun political rivalry, bitterness and self-interest to forge a united path toward peace and sustainable development. The Sole Administrator made the call on Sunday while speaking at an Inter-Denominational Church Thanksgiving Service held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4563,1809,4562,4561,4564,1228,3070,3574],"class_list":["post-7174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-administration-t","tag-democratic","tag-everlasting-grace","tag-inter-denominational","tag-iumvirate","tag-prosperity","tag-prosperous","tag-transition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7175,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7174\/revisions\/7175"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}