Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, and the state House of Assembly engaged in a more intense political battle on Friday, as it seemed the governor’s plan to reintroduce the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers Assembly was in jeopardy.
In a new letter addressed to the House on Thursday, Fubara announced his plan to resubmit the 2025 Appropriations Bill for review and acceptance.
In a March 13 letter to Speaker Martin Amaewhule, the governor stated that he planned to propose the budget on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, or on any other day in March that the House might think appropriate.
Fubara said his decision was in compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgement and in response to the request by the lawmakers for him to re-present the budget.
However, the state House of Assembly on Friday adjourned its sitting sine die (indefinitely).
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The decision to adjourn its legislative business indefinitely was reached during a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Amaewhule, after the House passed three bills which it said would be forwarded to the governor for assent.
A statement by the media aide to the Speaker, Martins Wachukwu, said, “In furtherance of one of its tripod functions, the Rivers State House of Assembly, on Friday, at its 136th legislative sitting, passed three bills, which will be forwarded to His Excellency, the governor, for assent.”
Speaking on the reports, Amaewhule said, “What the House is simply doing is the domestication of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act of 2017 that gave certain powers and privileges to the legislature in the performance of its function.”
