Gov Siminalayi Fubara

The Rivers State faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara presented the 2024 budget in error.

They called on Gov Fubara to obey the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja and present the budget before the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly.

Chairman of the APC caretaker committee in the state, Tony Okocha, made the call while speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

According to him, the budget presentation done by Fubara before the Edison Ehie-led Assembly did not meet the 1/3 (10 persons, approximately) statutory requirement of forming a quorum in the House. It, therefore, amounts to putting something on nothing.

He added that the Governor should represent the budget to show his compliance with a court order and respect for the rule of law.

Okocha stated this against the court judgement on Monday, which invalidated the N800 billion budget passed by the Ehie-led group of the Rivers State House of Assembly and signed into law by Fubara.

He called on the Governor to represent the budget in the interest of the people.

Okocha said: “The budget was presented in error. There is no way 4 Assembly Members will be sitting as an Assembly when the law stipulated one-third, which is about 10 members. So it means that the Assembly never met, and for the Governor to take such a risk amounts to putting something on nothing.

“So the decision of the Federal High Court, which also stopped the Governor from interfering with the affairs of the Rivers State House of Assembly, is in order and is welcomed by us.”