The Nigerian Senate has officially approved Rivers State’s ₦1.458 trillion 2025 budget, a significant increase from the earlier rejected ₦800 billion proposal presented in January by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The Senate revealed that the majority of the newly approved budget was actually drafted under Fubara’s leadership before his suspension.
During a budget defense session at the National Assembly, Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Emergency Governance in Rivers State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, made the disclosure while speaking alongside Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, and top state officials.
Bamidele stated that after weeks of reviewing the budget and holding in-depth consultations with key members of the state’s financial team, including the Accountant General, the Permanent Secretary of Finance, the Budget Director, and the Planning Director, the committee discovered that approximately 85 percent of the budget estimates had already been prepared by the Fubara administration before the onset of emergency governance in the state.
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The Senate’s approval signals a major policy shift and raises fresh questions about the political conflict that led to the initial budget rejection. Fubara’s ₦800 billion budget was dismissed in January amid controversy surrounding his administration, which was later suspended and replaced by Ibas.
Observers now say the Senate’s latest action could validate elements of Fubara’s financial blueprint while underscoring the institutional continuity maintained under Ibas. The development has sparked widespread discussion across political and civic circles in Rivers State, with many questioning whether Fubara’s initial proposal was prematurely discarded due to political tensions.
As the newly approved ₦1.458 trillion budget sets the financial tone for Rivers in 2025, attention is now turning to its implementation and the extent to which the legacy of the suspended governor will shape the state’s economic direction moving forward.
