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₦77bn allocated to CCTV, gunboats, and contingency funds queried by lawmakers
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House panel demands breakdown, legal backing, and evidence of LG fund transfers
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Rivers defends budget as inherited plan based on security and emergency needs
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Oversight of Rivers State has raised serious concerns over parts of the ₦1.48 trillion 2025 budget, summoning explanations from the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd).
During a budget defence session at the National Assembly in Abuja, Committee Chairman and House Majority Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, flagged several questionable expenditures that lacked clear justification.
These include ₦24bn for CCTV installations at the Government House, ₦30bn for gunboats procurement, and a ₦23bn contingency fund with no accompanying breakdown.
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According to a statement issued by House spokesperson Akin Rotimi, the lawmakers also criticised the Rivers State Government’s funding of projects constitutionally assigned to the Federal Government—without any agreement for reimbursement.
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“These expenditures require justification and constitutional backing,” Ihonvbere said.
The committee gave the Rivers Government 48 hours to submit the following:
A detailed breakdown of the flagged expenditure
The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) as required by law
Full records of financial transfers to the 23 local government areas
All documents related to the Airforce Base Agreement referenced during the budget
Responding on behalf of the Sole Administrator, Andrew Nweke, Special Adviser on Strategy and Policy, said many of the items were inherited and based on needs assessments by implementation agencies.
He explained that the ₦30bn for gunboats was earmarked to support security operations along the state’s waterways, while the ₦23bn contingency fund was set aside for emergencies such as flooding. The ₦24bn CCTV project, he added, was necessary to modernise security infrastructure for the Governor’s office.
Despite the explanation, the committee insisted that constitutional and fiscal accountability must prevail.
