Emmanuel Masha 
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has fixed Thursday, October 2, for judgment in the case challenging the sack of members of the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission by the outgone Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.).
The aggrieved commission members, Reverend Goodlife Iduoku Ben, Amadi Christian Echele, Chimenem Wisdom Jerome, and three others were appointed into the Commission by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and had their appointments duly confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly before receiving official appointment letters.
However, during his six-month tenure as Sole Administrator, Ibas dissolved the board of several government agencies, including the Local Government Service Commission, and made his own appointments, a move the claimants describe as illegal and unconstitutional.
The defendants in the suit include Ibas, the Rivers State Government, the Accountant-General, two commercial banks, and others.
In their suit, the aggrieved officials argued that Ibas acted ultra vires, stressing that he lacked the legal authority to suspend them and appoint a new chairman and members of the Commission.
In the course of the hearing, Justice Frank Onyiri issued an interim order restraining Ibas from inaugurating a new set of Commission members, directing that the status quo be maintained pending the determination of the substantive case.
The court is expected to deliver its judgment on Thursday, October 2, a decision that could have significant implications for the administration of local government affairs in the state.
