Pro-Fubara Lawmakers Give Gov Go-Ahead To Spend Rivers Govt Funds

In a dramatic unfolding of events within the Rivers State political arena, the leadership crisis in the State Assembly took a new turn this Tuesday.

Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo of the faction led by him, vehemently denounced the opposing faction’s recent resolution, which prohibits Governor Siminalayi Fubara from accessing public funds.

During a fiery session at the Assembly, Speaker Oko-Jumbo criticized the actions of Martin Amaewhule and 24 other assembly members, who, having defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in late 2023, have attempted to impose financial restrictions on the governor.

According to Oko-Jumbo, these former members lack both the legal and moral grounds to enforce such measures.

The contention stems from a prior resolution by the Amaewhule-led faction, which, after a seven-day ultimatum to Governor Fubara to present his budget, effectively froze the state’s consolidated revenue funds, thereby blocking the administration from making any financial transactions.

Speaker Oko-Jumbo clarified that the 2024 budget had been lawfully presented to the Assembly under the then-speaker Edison Ehie, passed, and subsequently signed into law by Governor Fubara.

He asserted that the current legally recognized assembly, which he leads, is awaiting the presentation of the medium-term expenditure framework for the upcoming fiscal year.

Moreover, Speaker Oko-Jumbo urged the public to disregard the pronouncements from the Amaewhule-led faction and called upon the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-elections promptly to fill the 25 seats declared vacant in the assembly.