Rivers excos approves 2025-2027 MTEF

The Rivers State Executive Council (SEC) has approved the framework for the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to commence the preparation for the 2025 budget of the state.

The SEC gave the approval at its meeting, presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and attended by Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, and other council members at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday.

This follows the approval of the request by the ministry for the submission of the updated copy of the 2025-2027 Rivers State Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to Council.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Peter Medee, disclosed this while briefing newsmen after the meeting, noting that the MTEF, which explains the fiscal and economic outlook of government for the year under consideration, enables the government to situate the economy so that the budget will not be over or under-budgeted.

He said, “Council today graciously approved our request for the submission of the updated copy of the 2025-2027 Rivers State Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The MTEF is a document that explains the fiscal and economic outlook of government for the year under consideration. It takes six years behind and three years ahead. The essence is to project and put some forecast based on which the budget of the following year will be prepared.

“So, today, Council has approved the framework for us to go ahead and prepare the 2025 budget of Rivers State. The essence is that the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework takes into consideration the global outlook, the continental outlook, the national outlook, and the state’s specific outlook.

“The idea is that when we do this focus, we will be able to situate the economy such that whatever may be the vicissitudes of the shock or other volatilities that may affect the economy, the projection will be able to insulate the economy, such that we will not over-budget or under-budget.

“So, the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework that has been presented today has taken into account the shock arising from the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and Russia, as well as other internal shocks, just like oil prices and other daily averages that will be able to affect the economy.

“So, Council, in their wisdom today, has looked at all that so that we will be able to prepare a budget that moves Rivers State from where we are today, where the Governor and the government of Rivers State will be able to provide value for the money, because the budget is all about expected income and intended expenditure.

“The income we are expecting has been looked at in terms of the outlay of the sources where this income will come from, and we have also considered what the needs are, such that the expected expenditure will be situated on a need basis, and all that is what this document looked at.

“We have also projected the income that we are expecting from the local governments as well as other sectors. All these are packaged in the envelope, such that by the time we do the sectoral distribution of this income, which is going to be the actual budget, we will be able to put the State on the path of growth and development.”

Dr. Medee noted that the 2025 budget, which will be bigger than that of 2024, will enable the Governor and government to deliver more democratic dividends to meet the needs of Rivers people.

He added, “One important thing that we have been able to achieve today is that the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework has projected that we are going to have a budget that is going to be expansionary, because the figure we are looking at is greater than the figure for 2024. And because the figure is greater, it means that the delivery from the state government to the people of Rivers State is going to meet a lot of expectations, such that Rivers people will be proud that they have a government that cares for them.”

On his part, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Warisenibo Joseph Johnson, stated that the Council applauded the governor for approving an additional N1 billion to the already subsisting N1 billion pension fund in the state.

Johnson noted that the governor’s gesture is commendable as the additional fund will take care of pensioners in the state as part of his welfare package for both the civil servants and the retired senior citizens of the state.

He added, “Council also appreciated His Excellency for the N1 billion addition to the Pension Fund. It had always been N1 billion, but the Governor, in his usual manner, has increased that figure from N1 billion to N2 billion.

“This is to take care of our pensioners, and that is worth commending His Excellency as part of his welfare package for both the civil servants and the retired civil servants.”

Also speaking, the Rivers State Head of Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, said Council also approved the domestication of the law elongating the number of service years for teachers across the country by an extra five years for teachers in Rivers State.

Dr. Nwaeke, however, stated that the approval will only be applicable to professional teachers duly registered with the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

“There is this new law elongating the number of service years for teachers across the country. Before now, teachers retired at the attainment of 60 years of age or 35 years of service to Nigeria. But this new law has now elongated the service of teachers by five extra years, so that teachers will now retire at the attainment of 65 years or 40 years of service, whichever comes first.

“So, today, Council has approved the domestication of this new service year extension for teachers in Rivers State. And we are talking about teachers, not administrative staff or other staff working in the schools.

“Everyone who will benefit from this must be professional teachers registered with the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria. They must be professional teachers, and they must be teachers in the classroom, not people working as administrative staff. This is heartwarming news, and Council has approved it,” he asserted.

He added that the implementation of the policy is effective immediately, based on the circular enabling the elongation of the service year for teachers across the country.