Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced that his administration has begun preparing the 2025 budget, which will be presented soon.
This announcement comes despite calls from the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Assembly for him to resubmit the 2024 budget proposal.
Governor Fubara made this statement while addressing a delegation from Etche and Omuma local government areas, who paid him a solidarity visit at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He urged the people to ignore the calls by the Amaewhule group, labelling them as illegitimate.
ALSO READ Pro-Fubara, Wike lawmakers hold parallel sittings
The Governor mentioned that he had initially intended to support the Assembly members before learning about their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Although he did not specify how he intended to help the lawmakers, it might have been through the implementation of political solutions outlined in the Presidential Peace Pact, which he now appears to have abandoned.
ALSO READ Why Fubara is Wike’s political investment – Tony Okocha
Governor Fubara reiterated that Martin Amaewhule and other defectors, who announced their departure in December 2023, have already lost their seats.
“I wanted to help them. We all knew what happened when they crossed and how they crossed. Because of our God, they made that mistake. They are gone, they are gone,” he said.
He explained that the seats of the defected lawmakers were declared vacant in December 2023 by the then-legally recognized Speaker, Edison Ehie, who now serves as his Chief of Staff.
Governor Fubara assured that the 2025 budget would prioritize education, healthcare, and agriculture, addressing the primary concerns of the delegation, whose major occupation is farming.
He assured that his administration is working with the police to resolve the herders-farmers clashes in both Local Government Areas to ensure peace and increased productivity.
