July 01, (THEWILL) — The House of Representatives’ Ad hoc Committee on Rivers has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Eke Ibas (Rtd), to submit the breakdown of major items in the 2025 N1.48 trillion Appropriation bill.
The Chairman of the committee, Julius Ihonvbere, who issued the order during a budget defence session in Abuja on Monday, queried the allocation of N24 billion for CCTV cameras to be installed in the state government house.
Demanding the breakdown of the budget details, Ihonvbere also queried the allocation of N30 billion for the purchase of gun boats and N23 billion earmarked for contingency reserves, requesting for justification of the sum.
He also directed the submission of the state’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which by law should precede any budget presentation.
Ihonvbere further questioned allocations to the federal government projects without clear reimbursement agreements, and called for transparency on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) within the last three months.
“We need additional details for those allocations, we request details of state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months to enable us know your financial flows so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.
“We also need details of transfers to local governments, essentially how local government funds that come into the state are being managed at the moment”, Ihonvbere told Ibas.
In his response, Ibas, represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, Andrew Nweke, said the administration inherited much of the budget structure. According to him, the proposal was based on a needs assessment conducted by implementing agencies and was designed to reflect the priorities of the Rivers people.
On the CCTV allocation, Nweke said: “The Office of the Governor is one of honour and strategic importance. It deserves modern surveillance and security technology.” He explained that the N30 billion for gunboats was intended to support security agencies combating crime in the state’s waterways, while the N23 billion contingency fund would be used to tackle recurrent issues such as flooding and other emergencies.
Nweke assured the committee that all requested documents would be submitted to facilitate the legislative process.
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