Rivers Administrator Appoints Chairman, Members of State Electoral Commission

Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has appointed Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey as the new Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

The announcement, which also includes the appointment of six other commission members, was made in a Special Government Announcement released Wednesday morning by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika.

According to the statement, the appointments take immediate effect and are part of the ongoing reconstitution of key government bodies in the state under the emergency administration.

The newly appointed RSIEC members are:

1. Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey – Chairman
2. Mr. Lezaasi Lenee Torbira – Member
3. Professor (Dr.) Arthur Nwafor – Member
4. Professor Godfrey Woke Mbgudiogha – Member
5. Professor (Dame) Joyce Akaninwor – Member
6. Dr. (Mrs.) Olive A. Bruce – Member
7. Professor Chidi Halliday – Member

The appointments come on the heels of a similar action by the Sole Administrator, who has named new administrators for all 23 local government areas of the state.

The restructuring of key state institutions follows President Bola Tinubu’s March proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers and the subsequent suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all elected members of the State House of Assembly.