Stanbic Bank founder, Peterside, accuses Rivers Administrator, Ibas, of ‘imposing riff-raffs’, on people

Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and Anap Business Jets Limited (Anap Jets), Atedo Peterside, has accused the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) of appointing people he described as “riff raffs” into offices of honour in the state since his appointment as the sole administrator by President Bola Tinubu following the suspension of Governor Sim Fubara.

Peterside, a political stakeholder in the state who made the accusation when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV on Thursday night, challenged Ibas to tell Nigerians how he made his choice of appointments, and explain the recent appointments of local government sole administrators and others.

Peterside also cautioned Ibas against adding fire to the already tensed situation in the state with his appointments, and warned that the sole administrator had no right to come all the way from Cross River State to add fuel to fire already burning in Rivers State.

He further warned that the people of Rivers will not fold their hands and watch someone from another state destroy their resources and inflame the situation, adding that the Sole Administrator either misread his brief or has no understanding of his role, and had, with his actions, inflamed the situation instead of helping to achieve stability and healing that was needed.

“You see, in every situation, I always believe in giving people time to tell us who they are, what they’re about in effect, before you rush to judgment,” Peterside said.

“When this Sole Administrator was appointed, please check everywhere. I never made any comment about him, his competence, his integrity or anything. So what has changed?

“What has changed is that I think the Sole Administrator either misread his brief or he has no understanding of what his role is.

“And instead of coming to an inflamed situation with a view to helping to achieve stability and healing, he might be inadvertently adding fuel to the fire.

“A given basis, he’s made some appointments. First of all, he emerged in an irregular manner. I would say the executive were misguided. So he’s a product of the executive being misguided legally, and then the legislators will be introducing rascality to use a voice vote to confirm his appointment.

“That, we all know, a voice vote does not make any sense. It can never prove two thirds, because even in the house of Reps, we don’t even know how many people were in the room. I saw the TV pictures.

“So here is the man who came in, knows he’s on shifty ground, on shifty ground, and what has he done? You know, they say, make some appointments, and I’ll tell you who you are. He’s made some appointments, even the Rivers State Electoral Commission. He went in there, removed people, made appointments. He then also went to all the LGs, appointed, Sole administrators.

“So, a man who himself probably has had no proper mandate in a serious country with a serious legal system now decides to add insult upon injury. Instead of simply leaving local governments in the hands of the most senior, full-time staff and even reading them the riot act, to do the correct thing, he now goes to superimpose people.

“I challenge him to tell the nation through what process he chose those he appointed. Through what process did he make the appointment? Did he advertise the positions? Did he call for nominations? Did he search Rivers State for the most competent, skilled persons of high integrity?

“Like I’ve already said, we know ourselves in Rivers State, you make many appointments from the people you’ve chosen. I can tell you who you are with due respect for the people he appointed, in my personal opinion, they are riff raffs.

“So a man leaves Cross River State comes to Rivers State in an inflamed situation. I challenge him to tell the nation what process he used in making the appointments.

“Did he choose people that he knew personally when he was in the Navy? Who did he ask for nominations? When did he produce some of these riff raffs from?

“You’ve got an electoral commission, and you bring in some people that you chose through the method that you can’t explain?

“Please, I challenge him to explain how he chose those persons. So do you want us to accept the elections conducted by some of those people that he chose when we don’t even know how they are mixed?

“And I think that is disrespectful to the people of River State. He should be called to order immediately.

“There should be no mistake whatsoever that we will sit down forever and accept persons being appointed to lord over our state and our resources,” he said.

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