The Rivers State House of Assembly has given Governor Siminalayi Fubara a 48-hour deadline to submit the 2025 budget for legislative approval.
During plenary on Monday, March 3, in Port Harcourt, Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol moved the motion, citing a Supreme Court order that halted federal allocations to the state until an appropriation bill is passed.
“You are requested to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended,” read a resolution signed by Speaker Martin Amaewhule. “The House expects you to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill within 48 hours.”
Amaewhule also criticised Fubara’s directive allowing heads of local government administration (HLGAs) to take charge of councils, arguing it violated a Supreme Court ruling.
The lawmakers referenced “the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended; the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2023, as well as the judgement of the Supreme Court in Suit No.: SC/CV/343/2024 that prohibits the administration of Local Governments by HLGAs or any other persons other than democratically elected officials.”
The House announced plans to go on recess by Friday, citing two years of continuous work.
Notably, no mention was made of the 2024 budget during the session.
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Fubara had signed a ₦1.1 trillion 2025 budget into law on January 2, after presenting it to lawmakers loyal to Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo.
However, the Supreme Court’s ruling last week reinstated Amaewhule and his group as the legitimate House of Assembly, reigniting political tensions.
In its landmark judgment, the court not only recognised Amaewhule’s Assembly but also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold Rivers’ allocations due to the state’s defiance of previous court orders.
Additionally, the court nullified the October 2024 local government elections.
Following the ruling, Fubara called for fresh council elections and instructed local government chairmen to hand over power to HLGAs.
“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,” the governor said in a state broadcast on Sunday.
He ordered the outgoing chairmen to transfer power to the HLGAs by Monday, 3rd March 2025.