THE Rivers State Government has stated that it had yet to receive any official communication regarding the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the State House of Assembly, demanding the re-presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill.
In a letter dated March 5, 2025, addressed to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo, noted that the government only learnt about the letter containing the ultimatum on social media.
He explained that, as of the close of business on March 4, neither the offices of the Governor, the Deputy Governor, nor the Accountant-General had received any such correspondence.
“Please, recall that His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, had in a state broadcast on Sunday 2nd March, 2025, stated clearly that notwithstanding his personal opinion on the Supreme Court judgments, he will, as a law-abiding Nigerian, obey and implement their decisions in accordance with the rule of law and the best interest of the people of Rivers State.
“We have since been in contact with our lawyers who are still awaiting the certified true copy of the judgments of the Supreme Court, and hereby reassure you and all the good people of Rivers State that as soon as His Excellency receives the judgments, he will strive to implement same timeously in the best interest of our people,” the statement said.
The ICIR reported that the Assembly had, on Monday, March 3, given Fubara 48 hours to present the new 2025 budget.
In a resolution signed by Amaewhule, the lawmakers cited the Supreme Court’s directive halting federal allocations to the state and prohibiting spending from the Consolidated Revenue Fund until a properly passed Appropriation Bill is in place.
The resolution stated that, in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the House expected the governor to submit the 2025 budget within 48 hours.
Meanwhile, the ultimatum expired today, Wednesday, March 5.
The ICIR reports that the Assembly’s ultimatum followed a recent Supreme Court judgment that reinstated Amaewhule and his faction as the legitimate members of the Assembly, which consequently invalidated the previous budget presentation made by Fubara to a rival faction.
The court deemed Fubara’s presentation of an appropriation bill before a splinter House of Assembly as absurd.
It also annulled the recent local government election conducted in the state by Fubara.
Fubara had signed the N1.18 trillion 2025 appropriation bill into law on January 2, 2025, after presenting it to a four-member assembly led by Victor Oko-Jumbo.
The lawmakers on Monday, also referenced constitutional provisions and the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2023, which prohibits the administration of local governments by unelected officials, as directed by Fubara shortly after the Supreme Court ruling.
This was coming a day after Fubara asked the heads of local government administration to immediately take over the affairs of the 23 councils pending fresh elections by the state electoral body.
The embattled governor gave the order in a state-wide broadcast on Sunday, March 2, following the Supreme Court judgement on the matter.
Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been at loggerheads over who controls the PDP structure in the state, with President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to resolve the stalemate yielding no result.
Fubara has vehemently resisted Wike’s insistence on controlling the PDP’s structure in Rivers State. In addition to declaring the seats of 27 House of Assembly members loyal to the minister vacant, Fubara sacked all 23 local government chairmen elected under Wike and declared that their tenure had expired.
He followed it up with a controversial election, which Supreme Court had now nullified.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M