The House of Representatives, yesterday, passed the N1.48 trillion appropriation bill for Rivers State for the 2025 fiscal year. The lawmakers, however, slashed N35 billion from allocation earmarked for CCTV installations, gunboat purchase and surveillance contracts.
At a plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, the House considered and adopted the report of its Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State, chaired by the Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo), before reading the bill for the third time and passing it.
Speaking during the consideration of the committee’s report, Ihonvbere said the panel also redirected over N30 billion from the controversial security-related votes to other priority projects, insisting the adjustments were necessary to ensure prudent use of state resources.
He said the budget sets aside N256.42 billion for personnel, N162.58 billion for overhead, and N1.06 trillion for capital expenditure for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.
The decision followed earlier concerns by the ad-hoc committee over several allocations, including N24 billion for CCTV at the Government House and N30 billion for gunboats, which the panel queried during budget defence.
Stakeholders and political observers in Rivers State have said that the passage of N1.48tr Rivers 2025 budget has provided a platform for the return of democratic governance as the six-month suspension of Governor Siminalyi Fubara draws to an end soon.
According to the stakeholders, with the approval of the budget by the national lawmakers, the obstacles between the executive arm of government and the legislature in the past have been removed.
A former member of the House of Representatives and a political analyst, Ogbonna Nwuke, disclosed that the budget’s approval is a welcome development, noting that returning Fubara to office will help the state focus on pertinent development issues rather than the usual shenanigans with the budget.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned till October 13, 2025, to enable President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Sole Administrator of Rivers State to respond to an affidavit in a suit filed by a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Initiative for Freedom, Conflict Prevention and Social Integration.
The group is challenging the legality of the President’s action in Rivers State, particularly the declaration of a state of emergency and the appointment of a sole administrator.
The plaintiff is asking the court to determine, among other things, whether the appointee can take over the affairs of the executive governor of Rivers State.
When the matter came up in court, the counsel to the President, Attorney General of the Federation, and Sole Administrator, Hilton Urbah, informed the court about the Memorandum of Conditional Appearance and preliminary objection filed, requesting time to respond to the affidavit.
