The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has revealed that the proposed ₦1.48 trillion budget for 2025 is strategically designed to accommodate the anticipated return of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other political officeholders currently affected by the state’s emergency administration.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during a detailed defense of the budget before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State Oversight, Ibas emphasized that the budget aligns with the long-term River State Development Plan (2017-2027). He described the budget as a comprehensive framework aimed at boosting revenue generation, accelerating infrastructure projects, enhancing human capital, and promoting 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,” Ibas stated.
He further lamented the withholding of critical expenditure information by some state officials, which hampered a more complete budget preparation. Nevertheless, the budget framework incorporates available expenditure data to ensure fiscal transparency and alignment with statutory protocols.
The budget proposal, which projects ₦1.4 trillion in revenue against ₦1.48 trillion in expenditure, was transmitted to the National Assembly after presidential approval and following a Supreme Court ruling affirming the legality of the appropriation process.
Key allocations include ₦324.5 billion for infrastructure and transportation, ₦55 billion to relocate and expand Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, ₦50 billion for zonal hospital upgrades, and ₦38.85 billion for shoreline protection and erosion control. Education receives significant funding with ₦30 billion earmarked for zonal secondary schools and ₦5.75 billion for primary school rehabilitation.
Social welfare programs also feature prominently, with ₦2.5 billion for women’s economic empowerment, ₦3 billion for youth resource centers, and ₦20 billion to recapitalize Rivers State Microfinance Bank to support SMEs. Pension and employee benefits are allocated ₦117 billion.
House Committee Chairman Prof. Julius Ihonvbere praised Ibas’s presentation and pledged rigorous scrutiny of the budget to ensure it serves the people of the oil-rich state. “We are committed to working with you to restore stability, peace, growth, and development in Rivers State,” he affirmed.
