Senate revealed 85% of the 2025 River Budget Recruited by a Defeated Government

The Nigerian Senate has revealed that most of the N1.48 trillion 2025 state budget, around 85 percent, was originally designed by a suspended governor, Siminaayi Fubara before the state was placed under emergency rules.

This disclosure came on Thursday during the budget defense session at the National Assembly, where the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee members on emergency governance at Rivers State met with the only state administrator, the retired representative of the Ibok-Ete Iba Admiral, and other main officials.

Senator Opeyemi Bamidle, Chair of the Committee, told members of parliament that after three weeks of strict review and consultation, it was proven that most budget proposals were compiled under the leadership of Fubara.

“Our findings show that at least 85 percent of the estimates submitted are compiled under the Fubara government,” Bamidle said. “Only 15 percent added by the current administrator to accommodate new projects.”

He further explained that the committee’s review process involved direct involvement with compassion and several high -ranking officials, including general accountants, permanent financial secretaries, budget director, and planning director, most of whom remained in office since the emergency government began.

The Committee also revealed that IBA had requested an additional N50 billion budget to clean up the retirement and gratification circulating, the proposal that is currently under the consideration of the senate.

When defending the request, Ibas repeated the previous comments made in June, where he hinted that the 2025 budget was developed in the hope that the Governor of Fubara might return to the office before the fiscal year ended.

Development came for months after the President of Bola Tinubu stated an emergency in the state of Rivers, suspended the elected governor in the midst of increasing political tensions. Since then, the retired representative of Admiral IBA has served as a single administrator, overseeing state governance as long as what is widely described as an intervention that has never happened before in democratic government.