The Rivers State Executive Council (EXCO) has approved a proposed ₦1.854 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year, christened the “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development.”
The approval was granted on Friday, January 2, 2026, after extensive deliberations at the first EXCO meeting of the year, held at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt. The meeting was presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, with the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, in attendance.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Economic Matters and Social Development, Prof. Peter Medee, disclosed that the council approved an aggregate budget size of ₦1,854,248,734,475.76 for the provision of goods and services in Rivers State in 2026.
“We are here to say that the State Executive Council has graciously approved the aggregate sum for the provision of goods and services of Rivers State for the year 2026 in the figure of ₦1,854,248,734,475.76,” Prof. Medee said.
He explained that the proposed budget was carefully structured to reflect the administration’s development priorities and to address critical obligations of the state.
“The main thrust of the 2026 proposed estimate has been fashioned to enable the state to accomplish and conclude ongoing projects, as well as clear outstanding obligations in key critical sectors,” he stated.
According to Prof. Medee, priority sectors in the 2026 budget include infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, human capacity development, youth empowerment, culture, tourism, and information and communications technology (ICT).
He also announced that the council approved the theme of the budget, noting that it aligns with the administration’s focus on recovery, consolidation, and sustainable development.
“It is against this backdrop that the State Executive Council has respectfully approved that the budget theme for 2026 is the Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development,” he said.
“This is because, in spite of many challenges, the Rivers State Government has remained resilient, focused and committed, while achieving key targets in line with our responsibility to the people of the state,” Prof. Medee added.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr. Honour Sirawoo, said the budget proposal underwent rigorous scrutiny before the final figure was approved.
“As you are aware, we have just concluded our EXCO meeting which extensively examined the proposal for the 2026 budget,” he said.
He noted that the administration was deliberate in arriving at what he described as a robust and realistic budget size.
“The Governor Siminalayi Fubara administration is determined to bridge lost grounds. For this reason, a very robust budget figure was arrived at after conscious and detailed deliberations to reposition Rivers State where it ought to be,” Dr. Sirawoo stated.
According to him, the government’s budgeting approach is driven by the need to ensure value-for-money spending and to enhance the overall well-being of the people of Rivers State.
The Special Adviser on Finance, Barr. Emmanuel Frank Fubara, was also present at the post-EXCO briefing.
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