The decision was necessitated by the recent Supreme Court judgment and the absence of an Appropriation Law during the period in question.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has annulled all pending procurement and tender processes undertaken by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state.
According to Ibas, the decision was necessitated by the recent Supreme Court judgment and the absence of an Appropriation Law during the period in question.
This directive was contained in a Special Government House Announcement issued in Port Harcourt on Thursday, signed by the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Prof. Ibibia Worika.
The Sole Administrator instructed all MDAs that had conducted such tender processes for projects within their respective offices to refund the associated tender fees to the respective contractors without delay.
The statement read: “In adherence to the Supreme Court judgment upholding the Appeal Court ruling in Suit No. CA/ABJ/CV/133/2024 and in the absence of an Appropriation Law, the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral (rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, wishes to notify the general public that all procurement and tender processes undertaken by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies during the period are hereby cancelled.
“Accordingly, all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies that carried out such tender processes for projects in their respective offices are, by this special announcement, mandated to refund such tender fees to the respective contractors immediately, pending the approval of a spending plan by the state, which shall be notified in due course.”