The Rivers State House of Assembly has issued a 48-hour deadline to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, demanding that he formally present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers.
The directive was given during their session in Port Harcourt on Monday.
Earlier in the year, on January 2, Governor Fubara signed the ₦1.1 trillion budget into law after presenting it to lawmakers led by Victor Oko-Jumbo. However, a Supreme Court ruling later confirmed Martin Amaewhule and his group as the legitimate members of the Rivers Assembly, bringing an end to the leadership crisis that had divided the house.
During their first session following the ruling, the lawmakers insisted that Fubara must present the budget once again. The governor had previously named it the “Budget of Inclusive Growth and Development.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold federal allocations to Rivers State for failing to comply with court orders. Additionally, the court nullified the local government elections that were held last year.
In reaction to these developments, Governor Fubara directed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission to organize fresh local government elections. He also instructed Heads of Local Government Administration to take over from the outgoing local government chairmen until new elections are conducted.
“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,” Fubara stated in a broadcast on Sunday.
He also ordered the outgoing local government chairmen to formally hand over to the new administrators by Monday, March 3, 2025.
