Reps Approve N1.4trn Budget For Rivers State

–– House of Representatives

By Adeola Idris

A budget of N1,485, 662, 592, 444. 00 has been approved by the House of Representatives for Rivers State in the 2025 fiscal year.

The approval of the budget followed the consideration of the report of the House Ad-hoc Committee on the Rivers State 2025 budget at the Committee on Supply, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.

A breakdown of the budget reveals that N256, 423, 694,639 is for personnel cost while N162, 582, 693,678 and N1, 066, 656, 204,127 are for overhead and capital expenditures, respectively.

The National Assembly had assumed legislative oversight over Rivers State following the declaration of emergency rule in the state by President Bola Tinubu on March 18.

President Tinubu, after declaring the emergency rule in Rivers, in response to the political crisis in the state, suspended the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly and appointed a former Naval chief, Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) as sole administrator for the state.

Addressing the House Ad-hoc Committee overseeing the state, last month, he said the 2025 Rivers Appropriation Bill was designed to take care of un-regularised expenditure in the state in the first quarter, prior to the declaration of the emergency rule by President Tinubu, among other issues.

“The proposed 2025 budget was particularly designed to account for the un-regularised expenditures already undertaken during the first quarter of the fiscal year by the suspended administration, before the state of emergency declaration by President Tinubu.

“Additionally, in anticipation of the eventual return to constitutional order, the draft budget prudently retains provisions for the offices and functions of suspended political actors, some of whom have already drawn on allocated resources in the first quarter and are expected to resume their duties at the expiration of the emergency period.

“We are optimistic that implementing the 2025 budget proposal will deliver great socioeconomic benefits for the people of Rivers State.”