Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), the sole administrator of Rivers State under emergency rule, on Thursday, defended a 24% increase in the state’s 2025 budget, raising the total expenditure to ₦1.846 trillion from the originally proposed ₦1.49 trillion.
Speaking before the Senate ad-hoc committee on Emergency Rule, chaired by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Ibas explained that the revised figure accounts for first-quarter expenditures incurred before the state of emergency was declared in May.
“The proposed 2025 budget may not be a perfect document, given the time and circumstances under which it was prepared,” Ibas told the committee in Abuja. “However, it presents an integrated framework to regularise first-quarter expenditures and ensure fiscal transparency.”
The revised appropriation reflects a 24% increase, driven largely by expanded commitments in infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, and security. The budget is anchored on the 2017–2027 Rural Estate Development Plan, with a focus on inclusive growth and economic resilience.
Among key allocations, ₦324.5 billion has been earmarked for infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and shoreline protection, while ₦38.85 billion is designated for land reclamation and erosion control. The health sector will receive ₦105 billion, including ₦55 billion for the relocation and expansion of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital.
Education has also been prioritised, with ₦75.6 billion allocated, including ₦30 billion for zonal secondary schools and ₦5.75 billion for primary school rehabilitation. A separate ₦5 billion is set aside for free drug distribution across the state.
The budget commits ₦31.4 billion to agriculture, targeting rice, cassava, and oil palm production.
These efforts, Ibas said, are expected to unlock ₦45 billion in development financing and create more than 16,000 jobs over two years.
To promote innovation and inclusivity, ₦3 billion will fund a youth innovation centre, and ₦2.5 billion will support women’s economic empowerment programmes. An additional ₦20 billion has been approved for recapitalising the Rivers State Microfinance Bank, to boost credit access for small and medium enterprises.
Security and public safety have also been strongly emphasised, with significant funds directed toward intelligence, law enforcement coordination, and rapid response systems, in light of ongoing militancy and kidnapping threats in the state.
For pensioners and civil servants, ₦117 billion has been allocated to cover pensions, gratuities, employee compensation, and group insurance.
Ibas also disclosed that the state recorded revenue inflows of ₦415 billion as of May 31, surpassing the earlier projection of ₦383 billion by 8%. He noted that the 2024 revenue performance had already exceeded expectations, with ₦1.043 trillion generated against a target of ₦800.39 billion.
The Senate, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, acknowledged that the revised budget targets the creation of 6,000 jobs and accelerates development across critical sectors. The proposal has been referred back to the ad-hoc committee for further review.
