Rivers governor presents 2024 budget to five lawmakers as seats of 25 lawmakers declared vacant
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Wednesday presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to five members of the state House of Assembly loyal to him.
This came a few minutes after the demolition of the House of Assembly complex started.
Also Read: Rivers Assembly Crisis: Structural defect adduced as reason for demolishing Assembly Complex; 25 Pro-Wike lawmakers says what has happened is a rape on history, history has just been murdered
In the financial instrument tagged ‘budget for economic recovery,’ Fubara said the N800 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year was aimed at promoting economic development through inclusive growth and addressing socio-economic inequality in the state.
The governor said the N800, 392,485,433.01 billion constitutes a Recurrent Expenditure of 361,598,242,570.85 and a Capital Expenditure of 410,266,485,090.64.
The 25 members of the Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress were not present at the sitting.
Meanwhile, the seats of the 25 PDP lawmakers has been declared vacant on Wednesday by the court-backed Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Edison Ehie.
While referencing the show and brandishing of APC flag by the 25 PDP lawmakers as well as the plethora of media and social media reports, he said “We are aware that it is the right of every Nigerian as regards freedom of association to identify with any group. And having deliberated the defection in line with the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria section 109 subsection 1g and subsection 2, I declare their seats vacant”.
