Rivers: Sole Administrator Ibas Jerks Up 2025 Budget By ₦365bn

The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas (Rtd) has jerked up the State’s proposed 2025 budget by N360billion.

While in the communication forwarded to both the Senate and the House of Representatives by President Bola Tinubu on May 27, N1.481trillion was proposed as 2025 budget for the State, Ibas gave a fresh proposal of N1.846trillion to the Senate’s Ad-hoc Committee on Oversight of Emergency Rule in Rivers State on Thursday.

The upward review as explained to the Senator Opeyemi Bamidele-led committee by the Sole Administrator arose from the need to make provisions for critical areas like pension and gratuities for retirees which got additional N50billion to the N117billion earlier earmarked for pensions, gratuities and employee benefits.

He added that provisions for the offices and functions of suspended political actors were also retained in the budget.

“Key features of the budget include
total projected revenue: ₦1.490 trillion.

“Revised total projected expenditure: ₦1.846 trillion (after incorporating first-quarter expenditure undertaken by the previous administration).

“The budget framework integrates pre-submission expenditures to ensure lawful appropriation, transparency, and credibility. In anticipation of a return to constitutional order, it retains provisions for the offices and functions of suspended political actors,” he said.

He added that “the proposed 2025 Rivers State budget aligns with the strategic goals outlined in the Rivers Development Plan 2017–2027.

“It is crafted as a people-centered fiscal blueprint, designed to address current challenges while laying a strong foundation for future development.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Bamidele, in his closing remarks, said it was very commendable that 70% of the N1.846trillion budget was earmarked for capital expenditure while less than 30% was for recurrent expenditure.

“This is a model the Senate wants all the States of the Federation to copy for practical delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians,” he said.

He, however, told the Rivers State Administrator that the committee will need the presence of the Accountant General of the State, Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Finance and Director of the Budget Office for final drafting of the budget, which according to him, will be finalised on Monday next week by the Ad-hoc Committee and presented to the Senate for approval on Tuesday.