The House of Representatives ad hoc committee on Rivers oversight has raised concerns over specific allocations in the N1.48 trillion 2025 budget submitted by Ibok-Ete Ibas, the sole administrator of Rivers State.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Senate approved the budget on June 25. The financial plan allocates N120.8 billion for debt servicing, N287.38 billion for recurrent expenditures, and N1.077 trillion for capital projects.
During a budget defense session in Abuja, Julius Ihonvbere, Majority Leader of the House and chair of the ad hoc committee, expressed reservations about several line items.
The lawmaker questioned the N24 billion allocated for CCTV installations, N30 billion earmarked for gunboats, and N23 billion set aside as contingency funds. Ihonvbere demanded a detailed explanation and breakdown of these expenditures.
He also criticised the budget presentation without a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is legally required.
Ihonvbere further questioned the state’s decision to fund federal projects without any agreement with the federal government for reimbursement.
He said, “We need additional details for those allocations. We request details of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months.”
“That will 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 came into the state are being managed at the moment.”
“Those documents we have requested must reach us within 48 hours; rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers working again.”
“We want to ensure that we 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.”
Responding on behalf of Ibas, Andrew Nweke, Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, explained that many of the contentious budget items were inherited by the current administration. He defended the allocations, stating they were guided by a needs assessment reflective of Rivers residents’ priorities.
Nweke clarified that the CCTV funds were intended for advanced surveillance systems at the government house, while the gunboats would enhance security on the state’s waterways.
He noted that the contingency fund would cater to emergencies such as flooding and insecurity and assured the committee that all required documents would be submitted as requested.
