…Orders immediate payment of March salaries
Paramilitary forces in Rivers State have been charged to work closely with the security forces in the state to keep the state safer and achieve peace. This is as an order has been issued to pay March 2025 salaries of civil and public servants.
The charge to the paramilitary units was handed by Ibok Ete Ekwe Ibas, a vice admiral and Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
The Administrator stated that there cannot be any meaningful development without a thriving peaceful environment, which means that efforts must be intensified to ensure that criminal elements were not emboldened to cause insecurity.
Ibas gave the charge when he met with heads of paramilitary organisations at Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday, March 28, 2025.
The Administrator explained the necessity of meeting with them as critical stakeholders in the fight against crime and criminality and acknowledged their contributions to ensuring a peaceful Rivers State. Some of the paramilitary units including the Civil Defence Corps have specific mandate to fight crude oil theft.
The retired vice admiral urged them to participate effectively in joint operations that are geared towards degrading the capabilities of criminal elements within the state and contribute their quota in combating activities of criminals in the state.
“I hereby, direct that you increase your patrols. If criminals have access to our resources, of course that means you are emboldening them.
“The responsibility has been given to individuals and organisations, as such, we must all work towards making sure that this state is very, very safe.”
The Solad frowned at a situation where vehicles had no registered plate numbers or concealed ones and were allowed to ply the roads within the State, which posed security threats.
He also observed that tankers overturned on roads, perhaps due to their poor state of condition, and sometimes due to the actions and inactions of other road users, cause obstructions.
“Of course, you have your intelligence in the paramilitary, therefore you must work together with the military, the DSS and even the local intelligence in the various communities that you find yourself.
In his speech, Felix Madumere, the Controller of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Rivers State Command, expressed appreciation for the valuable information the Administrator has shared with them, which will help in their daily operations.
Salaries:
Civil servants may now heave a sigh of relief as their March 2025 salaries which was trapped in the Rivers political crisis have been freed. This is because the Administrator has ordered immediate payment.
This came after unions grumbled and warned of impending strike.
A statement by Ibiba Worika, a law professor and now secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), said the Sole Administrator has approved the payment of salaries for all civil servants in the Rivers State Civil Service and all public servants of Rivers State Government, including pensioners and all suspended political appointees, for the month of March, 2025.
“The Administrator has further directed the Accountant-General to ensure that payment for salaries in March 2025 is remitted, without any delay.”
