Mathew Amaechi
In a move with far-reaching constitutional implications, the Nigerian Senate has approved the Rivers State 2025 budget for second reading, effectively cementing federal control over the oil-rich state currently under emergency rule.
The ₦1,480,662,592,442 trillion spending plan marks the first time the National Assembly directly appropriates funds for a state government, following President Bola Tinubu’s suspension of elected officials in March.
Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele presented the budget, arguing that federal intervention was necessary due to the vacuum created by the emergency declaration and the Supreme Court’s nullification of Rivers’ earlier budget. With no dissenting voices, Senate President Godswill Akpabio conducted a swift voice vote, referring the bill to the Ad-hoc Committee on Rivers Emergency Rule for scrutiny within two weeks.
Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan captured the urgency driving the process: “I support its passage so the people of Rivers can feel the presence of government.” The motion emphasized restoring public services in a state paralyzed by political instability.
The budget’s approval is the latest escalation in a constitutional crisis that began on March 18, 2025, when President Tinubu invoked emergency powers under Section 305 of the Constitution. He suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the state assembly, appointing former naval chief Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as sole administrator.
The Supreme Court later nullified Rivers’ original 2025 budget, citing legal defects arising from the political turmoil. This created a fiscal emergency, compelling Tinubu to submit a federal-backed budget to the National Assembly.
The Ad-hoc Committee, chaired by Bamidele, will summon Sole Administrator Ibas and Rivers finance officials next week to defend the budget line-by-line. The committee must report back by June 11, setting the stage for a final vote before the July recess.
Senator Olamilekan stressed the timeline’s urgency: “Every delay deepens suffering in communities lacking basic services.”
HURIWA, a human rights group, condemned it as “a mini-coup and dangerous descent into authoritarianism,” arguing that emergency rule cannot justify dismantling federalist structures.
Rivers women’s groups staged protests at Port Harcourt’s Ecumenical Centre, demanding elected leaders’ reinstatement. Activist Adata Bio-Briggs declared: “We want genuine reconciliation—not rule by decree.”
