JUST IN: Tension in Abuja as EFCC Chairman Storms Aso Rock Villa, Tinubu Summons Ibas 

Tension in Abuja as EFCC Chairman Storms Aso Rock Villa, Tinubu Summons Ibas

 

Abuja was gripped by heightened tension on Wednesday following the presence of top government officials at the Presidential Villa.

 

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, was sighted at Aso Rock around the same time President Bola Ahmed Tinubu held a closed-door meeting with the immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd).

 

Ibas, who was appointed by Tinubu to oversee Rivers during the six-month emergency rule declared in March, handed over last week after the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

 

His brief tenure has since come under scrutiny, with calls mounting for a probe into how state resources were managed.

 

The Rivers State House of Assembly, under the leadership of Speaker Martin Amaewhule, has already signaled its intention to investigate expenditures during the emergency period. Lawmakers resolved to “explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule with regard to spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditure.”

 

Available records show that Rivers State received at least N254.37 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025, when Ibas was at the helm. Critics have accused him of failing to improve infrastructure despite the inflow of funds.

 

The meeting between Tinubu and Ibas has therefore fueled speculation that the federal government may be moving to preempt or complement the Assembly’s planned probe.

 

Also spotted at the villa on Wednesday was Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, further deepening speculation about the subject of discussions.

 

While it remains unclear whether the visits by Olukoyede and Edun were directly linked to the Rivers matter, their simultaneous presence at Aso Rock has stirred political intrigue and raised questions about what steps the Presidency might take next regarding the oil-rich state.