The Rivers State House of Assembly has rejected claims by the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, that he was prevented from entering the House to re-present the 2025 Appropriation Bill.
According to the Assembly, it never received any official communication from the governor indicating his intention to present the bill.
Dr. Enemi Alabo George, spokesperson of the House and Chairman of the House Committee on Information, described the governor’s claims as a “comedy skit” designed to tarnish the Assembly’s image.
George recalled that on March 3, the Assembly wrote to the governor, urging him to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill following the Supreme Court judgment.
He noted that the Assembly had acted swiftly after the judgment, appealing to the governor to bring his appropriation bill to prevent harm to the people of Rivers State.
Despite the governor withholding their entitlements for over a year and demolishing their chambers, the Assembly still sought to hasten the presentation of the bill.
In a subsequent sitting, the Assembly urged the governor to submit the names of his nominees for commissioner and board positions for screening and confirmation.
However, according to him, the governor rebuffed their pleas, and the Assembly’s employees were turned down at the gate and allegedly brutalized.
He added that the Assembly eventually resorted to using a courier service to deliver their resolutions.
He said, “But the governor still did not heed our call, forgetting that there are essential services like hospitals, schools, and others to be funded. Our intention was to finish everything about the budget on March 15 so that we could send necessary information and documents to relevant agencies of the government to allow the release of Rivers’ allocations at the end of March. But with what he is doing, we don’t know what he wants to achieve.
“How can he turn around to claim that we blocked him from re-presenting his budget? This is the height of insincerity. We even need the budget to be passed because the governor has been owing us our entitlements for more than a year, and without the budget, we can’t get our entitlements.
“The governor and his team simply and deliberately acted out Wednesday’s drama with a singular motive to tarnish the image of the Assembly. The governor is simply playing to the gallery to whip up unnecessary sentiments. But it has backfired because the truth has come out.”
Besides, George insisted that the letter the governor claimed he sent to the Speaker never got to him, adding that it was after Wednesday’s sitting that the lawmakers saw the letter flying on social media.
He said: “But even the letter trending on social media was dated March 11. Does it mean that the governor purportedly sent a letter on Tuesday—God knows when—and immediately mobilised to the Assembly quarters on Wednesday morning, claiming he came to present his budget?
“That alone vitiates the claimed purpose. It is procedurally trite that after writing to the Assembly, the governor ought to wait for the letter to be acknowledged by the lawmakers, who will then invite him to appear before them and make his presentation. Governor Fubara ought to know this if he is sincere.
“But all we know is that this Assembly will continue to uphold the rule of law and will remain committed to promoting the interest of Rivers State. We urge him to do the needful so that Rivers people can breathe. He is toying with the lives and livelihood of Rivers people.”
