Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, South-South Nigeria, Siminalayi Fubara, on Thursday, signed into law, the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N80bn.
Gatekeepers News reports that Fubara signed the budget a day after he presented the estimates to the State House of Assembly led by Edison Ehie.
Ehie and his loyalists subsequently approved the bill and the governor assented to it on Thursday.
The signing ceremony was held in the conference room of the Governor’s Office at the Government House.
It was witnessed by the Deputy Governor, Prof Ngozi Odu; some metres of the State Executive Council, present and former lawmakers who support Governor Fubara, and some chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Local Government Areas.
The governor in his address said the estimated N800bn, tagged, ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’ will be well implemented to provide critical infrastructure like the second phase of the landmark Trans-Kalabari road and meet the socio-economic needs of the people.
On his part, Ehie commended the governor’s foresight in expanding infrastructure and youth development through employment generation.
Fubara had on Wednesday presented the budget estimates to five lawmakers led by Ehie, after the controversial demolition of the Assembly complex.
The Ehie-group had also declared vacant, the seats of the 27 members that defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
All these followed the political structure crisis between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
This led to the Speakership tussle between Ehie (in the governor’s camp) and Martins Amaewhule (in Wike’s camp) which is in court.
