By Paul Effiong, Abuja
House of Representatives ad-hoc panel on Rivers State has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Eke Ibas, to urgently submit the breakdown of major items in the 2025 N1.48 trillion appropriation bill.
Chairman of the committee, Julius Ihonvbere gave the directive yesterday at the budget defence session held at the National Assembly in Abuja.
According to Ihonvbere, his committee had gone through the budget as presented by the sole administrator and raised several cogent issues
He directed the sole administrator to submit the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, which is a legal document that should precede budget presentation for the purpose of transparency to all Nigerians.
The committee chairman, who is also the majority leader of the House, queried the allocation of N24 billion for CCTV cameras to be installed at the government house, demanding for the breakdown.
The committee frowned at the allocation of N30 billion for the purchase of gun boats and N23 billion earmarked for contingency reserves, requesting for justification of the sum.
“We need additional details for those allocations, we request details of the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, in the last three months to enable us know your financial flow so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing 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.
“Those documents we have requested for must reach us within 48 hours; rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers to work again.
“We want to ensure that we will promote a lot of accountability and ensure that the interest of the people themselves, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected,” he said.
In his address, the sole administrator, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, Andrew Nweke, explained that the administration inherited many of the items in the budget.
He stated that the budget was a reflection of the interest of Rivers people, as it is was designed in line with the needs assessment carried out by implementation agencies.
