The bill which “seeks to authorise the issue out of the River State Consolidated Revenue Fund the total sum of N1. 481 trillion for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2025,” passed Second Reading on Wednesday on the floor of the Senate.
Leader of the Senate and Chairman, Joint National Assembly Ad-hoc Committee to Oversee Emergency Rule in Rivers State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, presented the Lead Debate on the Bill tagged, 2025 Rivers State Appropriation Bill.
Checks revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had last March declared a state of emergency in the state and subsequently suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Ordu, for six months.
He subsequently appointed a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibot-Ette Ibas as the sole administrator of the state for six months.
The Leader of the Senate in his Lead Debate recalled the circumstances that informed the Senate’s involvement in appropriation of funds for Rivers.
He said: “The budget submission follows the declaration of Emergency Rule in Rivers State by President Tinubu on March, 18th 2025, and the subsequent nullification of the state’s 2025 budget by the Supreme Court.
“Mr. President, my highly respected and Distinguished Colleagues, we are today called upon by history to play our role as Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic and as Statesmen to perform our constitutional duty in the absence of the Rivers State House of Assembly to approve the budget proposal for the Emergency Rule for Government of Rivers.
“This budget is specifically for the Emergency Rule Government of Rivers State, aimed at providing essentialInfrastructure Development.”
Giving a breakdown, he disclosed that over N324 billion is allocated for road projects and public transportation and “nearly 32 billion earmarked for agricultural transformation to boost youth engagement in farming.”
Over N75.6 billion is allocated for improving learning environments and ensuring access to free basic education while the Health sector will gulp
N166.5 billion (14.4% of the budget) for major healthcare projects, including completing zonal hospitals and general hospitals.
N6.2 billion has been allocated for Youth Empowerment while the Women Affairs Ministry has N5.2 Billion earmarked for social inclusion.
Senator Bamidele itemised funding sources for the Budget to include, FAAC allocations, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Statutory allocations,
The Senate Leader appealed to his colleagues for expeditious passage of the Bill, considering its focus on employment generation and improvement in the living conditions of the people of the oil-rich state.
“It is important, above all to note that the spending plan prioritises investment in critical sectors of the state such as Infrastructure, Health, including free drugs for malaria and other common ailments, Education, and also Agriculture which is projected to generate approximately 6, 000 jobs.
“Mr President, Distinguished Colleagues, the budget aims to promote inclusive growth and development, with a focus on sustainable economic expansion and improved living conditions for residents.”
