President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the National Assembly to approve a N1.481 trillion budget for Rivers State for the 2025 fiscal year.
The request was conveyed in a letter read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
According to President Tinubu, the appeal became necessary following the Supreme Court’s nullification of Rivers State’s 2025 budget and the ongoing state of emergency declared in the region.
President Tinubu had earlier announced the state of emergency in a national broadcast, during which he also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for a period of six months.
To manage the situation, he appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd) as the Sole Administrator of the state.
Explaining the rationale behind the emergency declaration, Tinubu said it was intended “to restore stability in the state that had been witnessing a political crisis following the feud between Governor Fubara and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.”
Providing a breakdown of the proposed budget, the president outlined major allocations: N324 billion for infrastructure, N166 billion for health, N75.6 billion for education, and N31.4 billion for agriculture.
He noted that the agricultural sector was projected to create around 6,000 jobs.
Tinubu urged lawmakers to act quickly on the proposal, saying the budget was essential for the welfare of the state.
“I appeal to the lawmakers to urgently pass the budget for the good of the state,” he said.
Following the reading of the letter, Akpabio referred the matter to the Senate ad-hoc committee on Rivers emergency rule, directing them to return to plenary with their recommendations as soon as possible.
The letter was also read in the House of Representatives by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen during its Thursday session.
