The Rivers State government and the State House of Assembly are at each others throats over the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment, particularly regarding the presentation of the 2025 budget.
While lawmakers accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of obstructing the judgment’s execution, the state government fired back, urging the Assembly to reconvene so the budget could be formally presented.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Assembly spokesperson, Dr. Enemi Alabo George, challenged the governor to provide proof of the letter he allegedly sent to the House.
“Last week, we were told that on his way to Ogoni for a programme, the governor made a stop at the House of Assembly Quarters gate to address the press. He claimed to have sent a letter to the House requesting to present the appropriation bill, but no such letter was received,” George said.
He further criticized the governor’s aides for allegedly forwarding the letter via WhatsApp to some lawmakers, describing it as “awkward, unprofessional, and embarrassing.”
“As I speak, social media is flooded with reports about a supposed letter from the governor to the House. This is false. We categorically state that there is no such letter before the House or its staff. We challenge the governor to produce an acknowledged copy or any evidence of its receipt,” he added.
George accused the governor of intentionally frustrating the Assembly’s efforts to work with him after the Supreme Court judgment, particularly regarding the budget.
“After the Supreme Court ruling, we wrote to the governor urging him to present the budget immediately for speedy consideration. We had hoped to pass the bill by March 15, 2025, to allow time for the federal government to release funds frozen by the court ruling.
“However, our letter was rejected, and House staff who attempted to deliver it were harassed at the Government House gate. We later used a courier service, yet the governor ignored our call and showed no intention to engage with us,” George alleged.
Meanwhile responding to the allegations, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, dismissed the Assembly’s claims and insisted that the government had made multiple attempts to present the budget.
“On March 7, when we got the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, we wrote to the Assembly, but they pretended not to have seen it. We sent another letter on March 12, informing them of our intention to present the budget, but they hurriedly ended their sitting, locked us out, and fled.
“We wrote again on March 13, only to hear that they adjourned sine die (indefinitely) as soon as they received the letter,” Johnson said.
He called on the lawmakers to reconvene, stating that failing to consider the budget would mean defying the Supreme Court ruling, leading to a constitutional crisis.
“If they don’t sit and address the budget as directed by the Supreme Court, it would imply opposition to the court’s ruling, creating a constitutional stalemate that benefits no one,” Johnson warned.
