Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have raised alarm over several questionable allocations in the ₦1.48 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill presented by the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.).
During a budget defence session in Abuja on Monday, June 30, the Chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee on Rivers, Julius Ihonvbere, demanded explanations for several high-value provisions in the budget, including ₦24 billion set aside for CCTV installations at the state government house.
“We need additional details for those allocations,” Ihonvbere said.
“We request details of state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months to enable us to know your financial flows so that we can weigh them against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.”
The committee also queried the proposed purchase of gunboats valued at ₦30 billion and ₦23 billion marked for contingency reserves.
Ihonvbere stressed that the breakdowns and justifications for these figures must be submitted within 48 hours.
Another area of concern was the allocation of state resources to federal projects without prior agreement with the Federal Government on possible reimbursements.
“We also need details of transfers to local governments, essentially, how local government funds that come into the state are being managed at the moment,” Ihonvbere added.
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He reiterated the House’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“Those documents we have requested must reach us within 48 hours. Rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers working again,” he said.
“We want to ensure that we will promote a lot of accountability and ensure that the interest of the people themselves, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected.”
Representing the Sole Administrator at the session, Andrew Nweke, Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, said many of the controversial allocations were inherited from previous budget drafts.
He explained that the ₦30 billion set aside for gunboats was to support law enforcement efforts along the state’s troubled waterways.
“The budget was a reflection of the interest of Rivers people as it was designed in line with the needs assessment carried out by the implementation agencies,” Nweke said.
The lawmakers also applauded President Bola Tinubu for his role in stabilising the political climate in Rivers State following tensions between the suspended executive and the legislature.