The Senate has passed for the second reading, the sum of N1.4trillion 2025 budget of Rivers State.
This passage comes one week after President Bola Tinubu requested the Senate to approve the budget for the services of State.
In a letter Tinubu wrote to the Senate, he had explained that the move was in furtherance of the nullification of the state’s earlier budget by the Supreme Court.
Tinubu also noted that Rivers State, being currently under the emergency rule he proclaimed in March this year, it became incumbent on the National Assembly to act in the absence of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The budget, targeted to create 6,000 jobs, is prioritising investment in critical sectors, including health, education and agriculture.
Read also: Rivers ‘emergency rule’ budget of N1.48trn attracts subdued moods, cautious flaks
Some highlights indicate N324bn for infrastructure; N166bn for health;N75.6bn for education; and N31.4bn for agriculture.
A further breakdown has N287.3bn for recurrent expenditure; N1.072tn for capital expenditure; and N120.8bn for debt service.
Godswill Akpabio, the Senate president, thereafter, referred the budget to the Ad-hoc Committee supervising Emergency Rule in Rivers State for additional legislative action within two weeks.
The Committee had on Tuesday held it inaugural meeting and stated that the Sole Administrator Ibas Ikok-Ete will defend the budget before the joint committee of the National Assembly.
