Rivers Crisis: Fubara signs 2024 appropriation bill; 4 commissioners resign; pro-Wike lawmakers pass bills

Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Thursday signed into law the 2024 Appropriation Bill, barely 24 hours after it was presented to the State House of Assembly.

Recall the 2024 budget of N800.4 billion was on Wednesday presented to a four-man House of Assembly, led by Edison Ehie, which had speedily approved the financial document for the governor.

Also Read: Rivers governor presents 2024 budget to five lawmakers

And as one of the fallouts in the festering crisis in Rivers State, four commissioners have formally resigned their appointments from the state executive council led by the Rivers State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor.

Adangor resignation notice was contained in a letter addressed to Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and dated November 14, 2023. According to him having served in the same capacity during the tenure of Wike, his resignation is borne out of personal principles.

Others include the Commissioner for Special Projects, Emeka Woke, who announced his decision to quit Thursday and has tendered his letter of resignation.

The Commissioner for Works, George-Kelly Alabo, and his counterpart from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Inime Chinwenwo-Aguma, tendered their resignation letters also on Thursday. The letter, dated December 14, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government.

Alabo and Chinwenwo-Aguma’s resignations came hours after the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Adangor, resigned from his position. Also, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Woke, and Commissioner of Finance, Isaac Kamalu have resigned from Fubara’s cabinet. Those who have resigned so far are said to be strong allies of Wike.

Meanwhile, the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers in the Rivers House of Assembly led by the Amaewhule faction on Thursday through a motion, adopted and sat in the legislative quarters

The lawmakers while condemning what they described as the heartless and brazen demolition of the Assembly Complex through a motion sponsored by the 25 members and moved by Ofiks Kabang, representing Andoni constituency, drew the attention of the Federal Government, the Inspector-General of Police and the international community, to beam their searchlight on constant attack by the executive on the legislature.

The lawmakers passed the Rivers State House of Assembly Funds Management (Financial Autonomy) Bill, 2023 and the Rivers State Local Government Law, No. 5 of 2018 (Amendment) Bill, 2023 into law after a debate on the Report of the House Committee on Local Government, which was presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Ignatius Onwuka .

In his remark on the report, Amaewhule the factional speaker stated that the House decided to delete some sections of the law and amended some other sections because those sections were anachronistic and an anathema to democratic principles. He noted that with the passage of the amendment bill, elected Local Government chairmen and councilors would be liberated from arbitrary removals and suspensions.