Amaewhule knocks Fubara for spending without appropriation, illegal appointments

•Gov expresses commitment to worker’s welfare

The embattled Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, has flayed Governor Siminalayi Fubara for spending state funds without appropriation and making appointments without the Assembly’s confirmation.

Amaewhule made the statement during a solidarity visit by the Rivers State National Assembly caucus, where he accused the governor of financial recklessness and impunity.

Amaewhule alleged that the governor has been spending state funds recklessly, saying that such actions will be scrutinised in the coming days. He also declared that all those parading themselves as Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, and Civil Servants are impostors, as they have not been screened and confirmed by the Assembly.

Amaewhule emphasised that the governor’s actions are in clear disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law. He warned that the Assembly will not stand idly by while the governor continues to undermine the democratic institutions of the state.

He said: “Rivers funds that the governor is currently spending from his front pocket in different currencies as if it belongs to him and his family, will be in the front burners in the coming days and the coming weeks.

“All those parading themselves as commissioners are not commissioners, including those working with them as permanent secretaries, and those civil servants.

They are all impostors, even the ones that they said they would swear in in a few days as members of the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission and Assembly Service Commission. They should keep parading themselves and keep deceiving themselves. We are putting this disclaimer out to the public to know that these individuals are not officers of the Rivers State government.

MEANWHILE, Fubara has explained that in the heat of the political crisis staged against his administration in 2023, he committed to improving the welfare of Rivers workers to have a well-motivated workforce to achieve the goals of the Rivers First mantra.

The governor stated that the resultant industrial harmony has now become unprecedented as workers feel more valued, supported, and resolved to be more productive on an increased efficiency and profitability scale.

Fubara said this while inaugurating the one-storey twin-building Labour House constructed by the administration of Governor Douye Diri, in Yanagoa, the Bayelsa State Capital, yesterday.

The governor recalled that while en route to Abuja for a reconciliatory political meeting to find solutions to the 2023 political crisis, his mind kept drifting to what could be done to give hope and cushion the hardship faced by Rivers workers.

Fubara said this informed his decision to pay a Christmas bonus of N100,000 to every worker, across grade levels in December 2023, and extended the gesture to retirees in 2024.