Rivers Crisis: Fubara Frustrating Budget Presentation, 27 Lawmakers Claim

Twenty-seven members of Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, have accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of frustrating implementation of the Supreme Court judgement on the 2025 state budget re-presentation. 

The lawmakers claimed that the governor was not willing to comply with the apex court order, especially the aspect requiring him to re-present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the Assembly.

 They also denied receiving any correspondence from the governor on the budget re-presentation.

The media was awash last week with reports about the governor being locked out of the Assembly complex, where he had gone, allegedly, based on formal correspondence, to do the budget re-presentation, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

However, Chairman, House Committee on Information and spokesperson of the Assembly, Enemi George, who spoke to a select group of journalists, yesterday in Port Harcourt, challenged Fubara to produce the acknowledged copy of the letter he claimed to have sent to the legislature on the budget re-presentation.

But in a letter dated March 7, 2025, from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, the speaker and all members of the Assembly were invited to a meeting with the governor at his office on March 10 to discuss, among others, the presentation of the budget.

The letter said the meeting would also discuss provision of a befitting space for Assembly sittings and payment of outstanding salaries and allowances of the legislators.  

SOURCE: THISDAY