The House of Representatives Ad hoc Panel on Rivers State has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Sole Administrator of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, to urgently submit a breakdown of major items in the 2025 N1.48 trillion Appropriation Bill.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, who gave the directive yesterday at the budget defence session, said that his committee had gone through the budget as presented by the sole administrator and had raised several cogent issues.
He further directed that the sole administrator should submit the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is a legal document that should precede budget presentation for the purpose of transparency to all Nigerians.
Ihonvbere, who is also the Majority Leader in the House, also queried the allocation of N24 billion for CCTV cameras to be installed in the state government house, demanding a breakdown.
The committee frowned at the allocation of N30 billion for the purchase of gunboats and N23 billion earmarked for contingency reserves, requesting justification for the sum.
“We need additional details for those allocations. We request details of state internally generated revenue (IGR) in the last three months to enable us to know your financial flows, so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.
“We also need details of transfers to local governments, essentially how local government funds that come into the state are being managed at the moment.
“Those documents we have requested must reach us within 48 hours; be rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers working again.
“We want to ensure that we will promote a lot of accountability and ensure that the interests of the people themselves, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected,” he said.
In his address, Ibas, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, Andrew Nweke, explained that the administration inherited many of the items in the budget.
He stated that the budget is a reflection of the interest of the Rivers people, as it was designed in line with the needs assessment carried out by implementation agencies.