The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has stated that the proposed ₦1.48 trillion budget for 2025 anticipates the return of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other affected political officeholders.
Ibas disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday while defending the budget before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State Oversight.
According to him, the proposed budget aligns with the strategic objectives of the River State Development Plan 2017-2027.
He also noted that the proposal presents a strategic and integrated framework designed to raise revenues and accelerate infrastructure development, enhance human capital, and promote inclusive economic growth across all sectors.
“In anticipation of the eventual return to constitutional order, the draft budget prudently retains provisions for the offices and functions of suspended political actors, some of whom have already drawn on allocated resources in the first quarter and are expected to resume their duties at the expiration of the emergency period,” the sole administrator said.
However, Ibas accused officials of the state government of failing to furnish his administration with adequate information to comprehensively capture all expenditures.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers and suspended Fubara and other officials for six months.
