Rivers State lawmakers have accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of deliberately delaying the passage of the 2025 budget, prioritizing personal interests over governance.
Naija News reports that the reinstatement of lawmakers loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike by the Supreme Court has escalated tensions between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly, sparking heated exchanges with Speaker Martins Amaewhule and 27 legislators.
Speaking on the matter with DAILY POST, Chairman of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Information and spokesperson for the Assembly, Hon. Enemi George, challenged the governor’s claim that he attempted to present the budget but was denied access, stating that no formal letter had been received by the Assembly.
He further alleged that Fubara’s failure to engage with the legislature is affecting critical financial allocations, including salaries and pensions.
Governor Fubara recently accused the Assembly of obstructing his efforts to re-present the 2025 budget in line with the Supreme Court ruling.
However, Hon. George dismissed this claim, stating: “We have been begging the governor to bring the budget, and if he has not done that, it is his decision. The governor claimed he wrote to us and attempted to access the House of Assembly Quarters to present the budget, but we locked him out. That is totally untrue. There was no time the governor wrote to the House of Assembly as he claimed. He has written to the Assembly before, particularly when he presented a supplementary budget and when he requested that we screen his commissioners.
“It is a simple and straightforward process, nothing is different now. The first time, his aide said they sent a letter through WhatsApp. It is not done that way, and even at that, there was no such thing. Now, we have been seeing his letter circulating on social media, expressing his intention to present the 2025 budget. But there was no such correspondence to us. Clearly, the intended recipient of the letter is not us but the public. He is manipulating public sentiment. I have previously challenged him to produce a copy of any letter he sent to the House of Assembly. He is simply not being sincere. The governor is toying with the lives of the people of Rivers State.”
Hon. George further revealed that the Assembly had formally invited the governor to present the budget after the Supreme Court judgment.
“Immediately after the Supreme Court judgment, we wrote to him and said, ‘Please, within 48 hours, present the budget.’ By our estimation, by the 15th of this month, we would have conducted the budget hearing so that by the 16th, we could pass it. That way, within two weeks, we could complete the necessary processes with the federal government, ensuring the release of funds and the disbursement of allocations, including salaries and pensions.”
He emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that many pensioners, including his own mother, were awaiting their payments.
“The governor owes us too, so it is even in our best interest that the budget is passed. However, his ego and personal interest will not allow him to act. If the budget is not ready, then what he presented to those three guys was just an empty box. He should have written to us and said, ‘Guys, please give me some time to work things out,’ and we would have known how to manage the situation. The governor is not being sincere. He never wrote to us, and there are no letters from him in the House of Assembly. We only hear about them on social media.”
