Robinson Ewor, a former Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of spending public funds without lawful backing, claiming the state has entered 2026 without an approved budget.
Ewor made the allegation on Wednesday, January 7, in Ahoada East Local Government Area during a “thank you” visit by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Linking the situation to the prolonged executive-legislature standoff in the state, Ewor warned that government spending without a duly passed appropriation law would be unlawful.
“The government is designed so that there must be an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. The three must work together to be able to deliver the dividends of democracy for the state.
“2026, as we speak, the state has no budget. Every expenditure we make from now on, from January 1 going forward, is an illegal expenditure.
“So I will advise them, let them be the leaders they are. Let them communicate, let them open up, let them tell their followers the truth,” he said.
The dispute between Governor Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly deepened in 2025, following a Supreme Court judgment that reinstated the Martin Amaewhule-led Assembly faction and directed it to resume legislative duties.
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The judgment also halted statutory allocations to Rivers State until due process was followed.
After the lawmakers returned, the Assembly issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding that the governor formally present the 2025 appropriation bill.
The legislators also faulted the earlier signing of an ₦800 billion budget passed by a rival four-member faction aligned with Fubara.
In March 2025, the governor’s effort to present the budget at the Assembly complex was stalled when lawmakers denied him access. The legislators said the visit was not formally communicated and accused him of bypassing legislative procedures.
The Assembly later adjourned indefinitely, even after the governor wrote again expressing readiness to present the budget—further prolonging the crisis and spilling into preparations for the 2026 appropriation.
Ewor, who said he previously served in the Rivers Assembly, argued that no governor can run government effectively without legislative cooperation, noting that budgets can be passed quickly when there is alignment.
“I’m a product of the legislature. I know that the executive cannot function without the legislature. On one of the occasions in this state, we used one hour to pass the state budget to enable the governor to function.
“So for any governor to think he will succeed, he will work and survive without the legislature, is not correct,” Ewor stated.