Reps Demand Breakdown Of 2025 Budget Ftom Ibas In 48hrs

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Rivers State Oversight has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Sole Administrator of the state, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas to submit breakdown of major items in the 2025 N1.48 trillion Appropriation bill for the State
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‎The Chairman of the committee, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, issued the ultimatum during a defence session in Abuja.
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‎He said that the committee had gone through the budget as presented by the sole administrator and had raised several issues.

Professor Inhonvbere said the administrator should submit the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is a legal document that should precede budget presentation.

The Chairman of the Committee, who also doubles as the Majority Leader of the House, queried the allocation of N24 billion for CCTV cameras to be installed in the state government house, demanding for the breakdown.

He also queried the allocation of N30 billion for the purchase of gun boats and N23 billion earmarked for contingency reserves, requesting for justification of the sum.
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‎The chairman also observed and questioned the allocation of state funds to existing federal projects without agreement with the federal government refunds, among others.
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‎“We need additional details for those allocations, we request details of state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months to enable us know your financial flows so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects” Professor Ihonvbere stated.
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‎“We also need details of transfers to local governments, essentially how local government funds that come into the state are being managed at the moment.”
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‎Earlier, the Sole Administrator of Rivers state, retired Vice Admiral Ibas who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, Mr Andrew Nweke explained that the administration inherited many of the items in the budget.
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‎According to him, the budget is a reflection of the interest of Rivers people as it was designed in line with needs assessment carried out by implementation agencies.
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‎He said the N30 billion earmarked for gun boats was to support security agencies in their fight against insecurity on the waterways.
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On CCTV in the state government house, the Sole Administrator said that the office of the Governor is that of honour, saying that there was a need to ensure modern technology security surveillance, among others.
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Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji