Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has revoked the N134 billion contract for the renovation and furnishing of the State Secretariat Complex, directing the contracting firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), to refund N20 billion earlier paid as mobilisation.
The decision, according to a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Nelson Chukwudi, was reached during the State Executive Council meeting held on Thursday at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
Chukwudi said the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Austin Ezekiel-Hart, told journalists after the meeting that the contract—awarded during the emergency rule under the then-sole administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas—was issued “in a hasty manner without following due process.”
The state government, he added, has approved the revalidation of the bidding process for all four major projects previously advertised in national dailies on February 19, 2025.
The revalidated projects include:
- The construction of 4.8km reinforced concrete shoreline protection and reclamation in Queenstown, Epellema, Oloma, and Minima communities in Opobo/Nkoro LGA.
- The construction of 2.5km shoreline protection and reclamation in Ndoni-Onukwu, Isikwu, and Aziazagi communities in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni LGA.
- The construction of 2.5km shoreline protection and reclamation in Utuechi, Obiofu, Isala, Ani-Eze, and Odugri communities in the same LGA.
- The renovation, retrofitting, and furnishing of the Rivers State Secretariat Complex.
The revoked contract was among several projects awarded during the six-month tenure of Mr. Ibas, who governed the state as sole administrator between March and September 2025, following President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The President had cited the prolonged political crisis between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, as well as security concerns and oil pipeline bombings, as reasons for the drastic measure.
Mr. Ibas, a retired Chief of Naval Staff, faced widespread criticism during his interim administration for dissolving boards and making last-minute appointments, including naming a new Head of Civil Service barely an hour before his tenure ended.
According to the state government, the revoked secretariat contract was one of several emergency-era awards that failed to meet legal and procedural standards, prompting the current administration to reset the process and ensure transparency.
