Port Harcourt – Things have fallen apart for the Rivers State Executive and the Legislature, as the Rivers State House of Assembly insists that it will never acknowledge the 2026 Appropriation Bill sent to it by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This comes barely hours after the Assembly has initiated the process of impeaching the Governor. In his response to journalists at Port Harcourt, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, noted that the budget sent to the House by the Governor at this point will be to “legitimize illegality.”
As per the Assembly, the Governor’s constitutional violations, which the new notice of impeachment is based on, render him unfit to offer a financial report on behalf of the state.
“We are not a rubber stamp. We cannot discuss the fiscal future of Rivers State with a Governor who has continually attacked the very same Constitution he enjoys the powers he is exercising today,” the Speaker was quoted as saying.
“For this House, any document labeled budget by Fubara is dead on arrival. We will not receive it and we will not screen it,” the Speaker added.
The legislators were adamant that until the allegations of grave misconduct are cleared or the impeachment process reaches its logical conclusion, all cooperation between the legislature and the Executive Branch is put on hold.
This is leaving the financial fate of the state in limbo, with concerns about the potential shutdown of governmental machinery in case a budget is not passed in the coming weeks.
The Governor Fubara’s camp is still waiting for a reaction to the above mentioned rejection, although they have hitherto insisted that the leadership of the House is acting based on a “political vendetta.”
