The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday gave Governor Siminalayi Fubara 48 hours to present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers.
The lawmakers gave the directive in a resolution signed by the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, during plenary in Port Harcourt.
This followed a motion moved by the deputy speaker, Dumle Maol, at the sitting.
The Supreme Court had last week ordered the governor to present the budget to the Assembly led by Amaewhule, a loyalist of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The apex court also ordered the Federal Government to withhold financial allocations to Rivers State until Governor Fubara submits the budget to the 27 lawmakers who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in October 2023.
On January 2, the governor signed the ₦1.1 trillion 2025 budget after it was passed by four lawmakers led by Victor Oko-Jumbo.
In his remark at the plenary, Amaewhule also described as illegal Fubara’s directive to the heads of local council administrations to take charge of the secretariats.
The resolution read: “That pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court in Suit no.: SC/CV/1174/2024 for the stoppage of Statutory Federal allocations to the Rivers State Government and halting of spending from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Rivers State pending the passage of an Appropriation Bill, you are requested to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“That the House expects you to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill within 48 hours.”
Source: Ripples