By: Emmanuel Abi Couson
The political crisis rocking Rivers State took a new twist on Tuesday 9th January when the Rivers State House of Assembly directed Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to represent the 2024 budget as well as the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework ,MTEF.
This followed the adoption of a motion by the Speaker, Mr Martin Amaewhu during the 90th plenary of the House at the legislators’ quarters, Port Harcourt.
Presenting the motion, Amaewhu said it was worrisome that the House had yet to receive the budget and the expenditure framework from the executive.
This is the first plenary of the Assembly following the resignation the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie.
Ehie resigned from his position and also from membership of the House as contained in a letter dated December 29, 2023, and signed by him.
The speaker said “The 2024 Appropriation Bill is yet to get to this august assembly. As it stands today, we have not received the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, we have not received the appropriation bill for 2024,”
“It means the state at the moment is operating without a budget approved by this august assembly in line with the 1999 Constitution as altered.”
it will be recalled that Fubara had initially presented a budget of N800 billion for 2024 to the 4 man Assembly presided over by the factional speaker which was swiftly oassed and signed into law by governor Dec. 14, merely 24 hours after its presentation to the lawmakers.
However, as part of the conditions to end the political crisis in the state, under a peace accord facilitated by President Bola Tinubu, Fubara is expected to re-present the budget.
Amaewhule leads the 25 members of the House of Assembly who are loyal to the immediate past governor, Nyesom Wike, who now serves as the FCT Minister under President Tinubu’s administration.
Meanwhile, the governor is yet to respond to the lawmakers’ demand.
