The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has said a new 2025 budget is being articulated for the state to provide for critical development concerns.
However, as Ibas settles down to work, a coalition of Nigerian activists in the United States announced its plan to protest at the White House against the declaration of emergency rule in Rivers.
Ibas also said the new budget would create more employment opportunities for Rivers people and advance delivery of technology in critical facets of public life.
Suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara had presented the 2025 budget to a three -man House of Assembly led by Victor Oko-Jumbo as Speaker, but after the Supreme Court judgment ordered him (Fubara) to represent the budget to the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly, all efforts to represent it was frustrated by antagonistic lawmakers.
The SOLAD hinted about the new budget when he hosted a delegation of Rivers caucus at the National Assembly led by Sen Barinada Mpigi (PDP, Rivers South-East), at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The Guardian, however, gathered that the National Assembly members loyal to Fubara, including Boma Goodhead, Allison Anderson and Ipalibo Banigo, were excluded from the meeting.
Those on the delegation were Sen Allwell Onyesoh, Kingsley Chinda, Dumnamene Dekor, Solomon Bob, Cyril Hart, Blessing Amadi, Felix Nwaeke, Kelechi Nwogu and Victor Obuzor
Ibas said: “Since the Supreme Court verdict on the state’s budget, we have acted swiftly and decided to put together a new budget that reflects our commitment to healthcare, education, social services and continued infrastructural development.
“We have worked diligently to ensure that the process is transparent, inclusive and most importantly, expedited. Our goal is to ensure that we do not lose any more time in making the necessary investments that will improve the lives of citizens.”
THE coalition under the Democratic Movement (DM) demands the reversal of the emergency rule imposed on Rivers by President Bola Tinubu, the reinstatement of Fubara and the restoration of the State House of Assembly.
A statement by the President, Cosmos Achief, yesterday, the coalition said the protest was to draw global attention to a “direct assault on democracy and the will of the people.”
He said: “We cannot sit back while an elected governor is removed, an entire legislature is suspended and an unelected administrator is imposed. These are dangerous precedents that threaten Nigeria’s democracy.”
The coalition said the protest will take place in Washington, D.C., with demonstrators marching to the White House and the U.S. Department of State to submit petitions demanding international intervention.
