Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, has dissolved the Rivers State Pensions Board with immediate effect.
In a statement issued on September 26, 2025, by the Head of Service, Dr. Inyingi Brown, the governor directed that the functions of the board would henceforth be handled by the Office of the Accountant General of Rivers State.
The Pensions Board was among those reconstituted by the immediate past emergency rule administration led by Vice Admiral Ikot Ibas, who inaugurated the board on September 12, 2025, just six days before leaving office.
The board was tasked with reforming the state’s pension administration for greater efficiency.
Governor Fubara has assured that a new board would be constituted in due course to manage the state’s pension affairs.
The dissolution of the board has raised questions about the governance of pension matters in the state.
Meanwhile, members of the defunct board have been directed to hand over all properties and assets of the board in their possession to the Director of Administration in the pensions office.
The move is seen as a significant decision by the Fubara-led government after the emergency rule that lasted for six months.
Analysts believe that the dissolution is a subtle jab at the legacy of the former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas.
Some have hailed the move as a step towards fiscal prudence, while others have criticized it as a power grab.
The dissolution comes amid reports of inefficiencies in the board, including delayed verifications that left 2,000 retirees unpaid in Q3 2025 alone.
With over 15,000 retirees awaiting N50 billion in backlogs since 2015, the state’s pension crisis remains a pressing issue.
