From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the 2025 Rivers State budget to the Senate and the House of Representatives for approval.
The President’s letters seeking approval for the N1.481 trillion Rivers budget were read at yesterday’s plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.
Tinubu had in March, declared an emergency rule in Rivers for six months in the first instance, following lingering political crisis in the state. President Tinubu, who suspended the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Ngozi Odu and the State House of Assembly, appointed Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd) as sole administrator of the state.
He noted that all regulations by the sole administrator shall be approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President, during the duration of the emergency rule.
However, the parliament, while approving the emergency rule, resolved that in line with Section 11( 4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), it is the National Assembly that will make laws for Rivers State, during the emergency rule, and not the President.
Consequently, the Green chamber constituted an Ad-hoc Committee headed by the House Leader, Julius Ihonbvere, to oversight Rivers State while the emergency rule subsists.
President Tinubu, in his letter to the lawmakers, explained that in the absence of the Rivers Assembly, it behooves the federal legislature to make laws for the state.
According to him, “In the absence of the State Assembly, it is expected that the National Assembly acts on that behalf, hence the request for the approval of the House of Representatives for the River State Government 2025 Appropriation Bill. The Appropriation Bill for the year 2025 is N1,481,000,000,000, wherein N324,000,000,000 is for infrastructure, both ongoing and new projects.
“The sum of N166,000,000,000 is for the health sector, including N5,000,000,000 for free drugs for treatment of malaria and other common ailments. The sum of N75,600,000,000 is proposed for the education sector and N31,400,000,000 for agriculture projects.
“The spending plan priorities, investment in critical sectors of the state, such as infrastructure, health, including free drugs for malaria and other common ailments, education and also agriculture, which is projected to generate approximately 6,000 jobs.”