By The NewsMata
The Rivers State House of Assembly has given the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara 48 hours to represent the 2025 budget to the lawmakers.
The Martin Amaewhule-led Assembly handed down the ultimatum at plenary on Monday.
Newsmata.com.ng recalls that Governor Fubara had on January 2, signed into law the ₦1.1 trillion 2025 budge christened “Budget of Inclusive Growth and Development” which he had presented to the parallel three-man Victor Oko-Jumbo House in December.
However, in its judgement on Friday February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Amaewhule-led Assembly loyal to the immediate past governor of the state and minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyesom Wike, declaring the lawmakers as the legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The apex court therefore not only directed the governor to represent the budget to the properly constituted House but went further to order the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold allocations to Rivers State for disobeying court orders, as well as nullified the local government elections conducted in the state last year in breach of a court order.
In his reaction in a state-wide broadcast, Governor Fubara directed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission to prepare to conduct fresh local government elections.
According to him, “Furthermore, 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 by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission”.
He in the same vein, directed the “outgoing local government chairmen to formally hand over the levers of power to the Heads of Local Government Administration by Monday, 3rd March 2025.”