The Nigerian Senate has disclosed that about 85 per cent of the N1.48 trillion 2025 budget submitted by the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), was originally drafted by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Emergency Governance in Rivers State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, made this known on Thursday during a budget defence session with Ibas and key officials from the state at the National Assembly in Abuja.
According to Bamidele, a thorough review of the budget and consultations with Rivers State officials — including the Accountant General, Permanent Secretary of Finance, Budget Director, and Planning Director — revealed that the majority of the budget was put together before the emergency rule began.
“Our findings show that at least 85 per cent of the submitted estimates were drawn up under the Fubara administration. Only 15 per cent was added by the current administrator to accommodate new projects,” he said.
The committee also revealed that the current administrator has proposed a supplementary budget of N50 billion to settle pension arrears and improve peace efforts in the state.
“The administrator is passionate about resolving pension liabilities. Governance is not just about building roads and bridges, it’s also about human welfare,” Bamidele added.
He further praised the budget’s structure, noting that over 70 per cent of it was allocated to capital projects — a decision the Senate described as a “model” for other states to follow.
Earlier, the committee had pledged strict monitoring of the budget’s implementation and expressed readiness to provide further support to the Rivers State administration during the ongoing emergency rule.
The emergency governance in Rivers State followed political tensions and a power tussle between Governor Fubara and other political actors, leading to the appointment of a sole administrator to oversee state affairs.
