Retired Captain Luqman Gidado, a security expert and public affairs analyst, has weighed in on Nigeria’s ongoing governance debates, calling for integrity, impartiality, and accountability as essential pillars for sustaining the country’s fragile democracy.
Speaking on Adamimogo’s Inside Scoop current affairs programme, Gidado addressed the rising calls for Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), who served as the sole administrator of Rivers State during the six-month emergency rule, to render a public account of his stewardship.
He noted the constitutional complexities of such a demand, stressing that Ibas was not an elected leader but a presidential appointee.
“If you are holding a public office, you must be accountable,” Gidado said. “But since Ibas had no mandate from the people, it is the president — the authority who appointed him — that must instruct him to render that account.”
The retired naval officer acknowledged that Rivers State witnessed a period of relative political stability under Ibas’s interim administration, which ultimately eased the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his cabinet.
Looking ahead, Gidado urged political actors in the state to “bury their hatchets” and focus on governance rather than personal rivalries. He emphasised that the priority should now be delivering tangible dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers, warning that lingering conflicts could undermine progress.
