Reps kick as Ibas allocates N24bn for CCTV, N30bn for gunboats in Rivers’ 2025 budget

The house of representatives ad hoc committee on the oversight of Rivers has faulted Ibok-Ete Ibas, sole administrator of the state, over some proposed expenditures in the N1.48 trillion 2025 budget.

On June 25, the senate passed the N1.48 trillion appropriation bill for Rivers state.

According to the budget breakdown, N120.8 billion is earmarked for debt servicing, N287.38 billion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while N1.077 trillion will be invested in capital projects.

Speaking during a budget defence session in Abuja on Monday, Julius Ihonvbere, majority leader of the house and chair of the ad hoc committee on Rivers, said the committee had reviewed the proposal and flagged multiple concerns.

Ihonvbere queried the N24 billion earmarked for CCTV, N30 billion allocated for gunboats, and N23 billion for contingency allocations in the Rivers’ budget, demanding a breakdown and justification for the allocations.

He said the budget was presented without an accompanying medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) — which is a legal requirement.

The lawmaker also questioned why Rivers is funding federal projects without any agreement with the federal government for reimbursement.

Ihonvbere asked the administrator to provide details of transfers to local governments, including how funds meant for the third tier are being managed.

“We need additional details for those allocations. We request details of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months,” he said.

“That will enable us to know your financial flows so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.

“We also need details of transfers to local governments — essentially, how local government funds that came into the state are being managed at the moment.

“Those documents we have requested must reach us within 48 hours; rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers working again.

“We want to ensure that we promote a lot of accountability and ensure that the interests of the people themselves, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected.”

Responding on behalf of Ibas, Andrew Nweke, senior special assistant on strategy and policy, said the current administration inherited many of the budgetary items.

He said the allocations reflect the priorities of Rivers people, based on a needs assessment conducted by implementing agencies.

Nweke said the CCTV allocation was for modern surveillance infrastructure at the government house.

He added that the gunboats were meant to aid security agencies patrolling Rivers’ waterways.

According to him, the contingency reserve would help address flooding, insecurity, and other emergencies.

He promised to make the requested documents available to the committee.