Drama as Fubara presents 2024 budget to 5 Rivers lawmakers

A mild drama ensued in Rivers State on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, as the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, presented the 2024 Rivers State appropriation bill to five members of the state House of Assembly.

Fubara presented the budget to the five lawmakers, including the Speaker of the House, Edison Ehie, at about 9 a.m.

The governor was accompanied by the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo; the Commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu; and the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson; among others.

The latest development is coming a few hours after the Rivers State Government demolished the Assembly complex in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The Star had reported that the Assembly complex was demolished in the early hours of Wednesday.

READ ALSO: Wike vs Fubara: Rivers Govt demolishes Assembly

The demolition began shortly after lawmakers loyal to Governor Fubara held a session on Wednesday morning.

The state government later explained the reasons behind the demolition.

It would be recalled that 27 out of the 32 members of the House, on Monday, December 11, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defected lawmakers, who are loyalists of the immediate past governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, cited division within the PDP as the reason for the defection.

The 27 lawmakers also accused Governor Fubara of starving them of funds.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Executive Council, in its fifth sitting on Monday, approved the estimated budget of over N800 billion, christened the Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation, and Continuity for the 2024 fiscal year.

The governor said N412 billion was for capital expenditure and N361 billion for recurrent expenditure while N21 billion would be for reserve.

The Star