Contrary to widespread claims and political insinuations, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has acted strictly within constitutional, legal, and fiscal boundaries regarding the Rivers State 2025 budget.
It is important to recall that in June 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, formally transmitted a request to the National Assembly seeking approval for the Rivers State 2025 budget following the declaration of a state of emergency in the state. Acting on this request, a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives deliberated on and passed the budget into law on July 21, 2025.
That budget subsequently became the legally binding Appropriation Act for Rivers State and was fully implemented by the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd.), throughout the duration of the emergency rule.
Following the lifting of the state of emergency on September 18, 2025, Governor Siminalayi Fubara lawfully resumed office and, by operation of law, inherited the same subsisting budget which remains the valid appropriation framework guiding governance and expenditure in the state.
Budget Timeline and Legal Validity
Although Rivers State traditionally operates a January–December budget cycle, the extraordinary circumstances occasioned by the emergency rule altered the fiscal calendar. Consequently, the 2025 budget only took legal effect from July 2025, the date it was signed into law by the President, and is therefore scheduled to run until July 2026, in line with a standard 12-month budget lifespan.
Against this backdrop, assertions that Governor Fubara failed to present a 2026 budget to the Rivers State House of Assembly are misleading and legally unfounded. There is already an existing, valid, and subsisting budget currently in force, which constitutionally and lawfully covers the present fiscal period.
MTEF and Forward Planning
In further demonstration of fiscal responsibility, the Rivers State Executive Council on January 2 met and approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)—the foundational document upon which any future budget proposal is anchored—alongside a projected budget estimate of ₦1.87 trillion.
This step followed a comprehensive review of the budgetary approvals earlier granted by the Federal Government and National Assembly to the Sole Administrator during the emergency period.
It must also be noted that the earlier ₦1.1 trillion budget presented by Governor Fubara and passed by the Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo-led Rivers State House of Assembly, alongside the October 5, 2024 local government elections, were nullified by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, thereby extinguishing their legal effect.
Supplementary Budget Debate
Upon the governor’s return after the six-month suspension arising from the emergency declaration on March 18, 2025, the Rivers State House of Assembly requested the submission of a supplementary budget, proposing that it be merged with the budget earlier approved by the National Assembly.
Governor Fubara rightly objected, clarifying that a supplementary budget cannot legally be superimposed on an existing appropriation law that has already been enacted by the National Assembly and assented to by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The 2025 Appropriation Act, having federal legislative authority during the emergency period, supersedes any parallel state legislative action.
From both legal and economic perspectives, a supplementary budget is only justifiable when an existing budget has been substantially exhausted—a condition that clearly does not apply in this instance, as the current budget is still running and largely unexpended.
As a professional accountant, Governor Fubara maintained that proposing another budget under such circumstances would be financially imprudent, procedurally defective, and legally unsound. He further emphasized that the law permits a governor to lawfully continue spending under an existing appropriation for up to six months into a new fiscal year, where applicable.
Commissioners and Appointments
On the matter of governance and appointments, it is noteworthy that eight commissioners, duly screened and confirmed by the Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly, are currently serving in the administration.
Additionally, the governor has recently appointed five Special Advisers, positions which do not require legislative screening, to strengthen service delivery, administrative efficiency, and policy execution. This action is firmly rooted in the powers conferred on the governor by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Based on the foregoing facts, it is incorrect and misleading to allege that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has failed in his constitutional duty regarding budget presentation. On the contrary, he has demonstrated strict adherence to the rule of law, sound fiscal judgment, and responsible governance.
Any claim to the contrary is not only a grave misnomer but a deliberate distortion of constitutional and financial realities.
Jens Karibo Esq.
Public Policy Analyst
Writes from Port Harcourt
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