Rivers Assembly Asks Fubara To Present 2025 Budget In 48 Hours

The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has been issued a 48-hour ultimatum by the Rivers State House of Assembly to present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers.

Naija News reports that the lawmakers made this demand during the plenary in Port Harcourt on Monday, March 3rd, 2025.

This development comes shortly after a prominent Ijaw leader in Rivers State, Anabs Sara-Igbe, expressed reservations about the Supreme Court ruling on the Rivers State political crisis, stating that the judgment appears biased and influenced by vested interests.

Sara-Igbe’s reaction follows Governor Fubara’s assurance to Rivers residents that his administration would implement the Supreme Court’s verdict once it obtains a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the ruling.

However, in a resolution signed by the Speaker Martin Amaewhule, the lawmakers said: “That pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court in Suit no.: SC/CV/1174/2024 for the stoppage of Statutory Federal allocations to the Rivers State Government and halting of spending from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Rivers State pending the passage of an Appropriation Bill, you are requested to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“That the House expects you to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill within 48 hours”.

Amaewhule, in his statements, criticized Governor Fubara’s instruction to the heads of Local Government Administration to oversee the councils, asserting that it is unlawful and contradicts the ruling of the Supreme Court.

The legislators highlighted to the governor the relevant sections of the amended 1999 Constitution, the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Law of 2023, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Suit No.: SC/CV/343/2024, which prohibits the management of Local Governments by HLGAs or any individuals other than those duly elected.

The House decided to enter recess by Friday, having worked continuously for the past two years.

Notably, there was no discussion regarding the 2024 budget during the plenary session.

On January 2nd, Governor Fubara enacted a ₦1.1 trillion budget for 2025 after presenting it to the lawmakers led by Victor Oko-Jumbo.

However, just last week, the Supreme Court instructed Martin Amaewhule and the group of lawmakers he leads to reconvene as legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

This decision concluded a prolonged dispute over the leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, with two factions of lawmakers claiming authority over the legislative body.

In their first session following the landmark ruling, the Rivers State Assembly requested that Fubara submit the bill he referred to as the “Budget of Inclusive Growth and Development,” adding a new dimension to the political developments in the resource-rich state.

In addition to directing Amaewhule and his fellow lawmakers to resume their sessions, the Supreme Court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold allocations for Rivers until it rectifies what the court deemed as blatant noncompliance with court orders.

Furthermore, the court annulled the local government elections held in Rivers State last year.

Following the verdict, Fubara called for fresh council polls in the state, promising to obey the judgment of the apex court.

“Furthermore, given the outlawing of caretaker arrangements in the local government system, I hereby direct the Heads of Local Government Administration to immediately take over the administration of the 23 local government councils pending the conduct of fresh elections by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission,” the governor said in a state broadcast on Sunday.

He asked the “outgoing local government chairmen to formally hand over the levers of power to the Heads of Local Government Administration by Monday, 3rd March 2025”.