₦1.48 Trillion Bombshell: Tinubu Pushes Rivers Budget To National Assembly Amid Political Tensions

President Bola Tinubu has formally presented the ₦1.481 trillion 2025 budget for Rivers State to the National Assembly for approval.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, read the President’s request during Thursday’s plenary session. Senate President Godswill Akpabio also read the communication on the Senate floor.

According to the budget breakdown submitted by Tinubu, the proposed allocations include:

• ₦324 billion for infrastructure,

• ₦166 billion for health,

• ₦75.6 billion for education, and

• ₦31.4 billion for agriculture.

The President urged the lawmakers to consider and fast-track passage of the appropriation bill.

Earlier on April 3, Ibok-Ete Ibas, the sole administrator of Rivers State, announced that a new 2025 budget for the state was in the works, emphasizing key focus areas such as education, healthcare, social services, and infrastructure.

It should be recalled that on March 18, 2025, President Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months amid a deepening political crisis. A state of emergency was declared in the oil-rich state, and Ibok-Ete Ibas, a former naval chief, was appointed as the sole administrator.

Meanwhile, Ijaw National Congress (INC) President, Professor Benjamin Okaba, has called on Niger Delta residents to resist what he described as a “divide and rule” strategy being deployed in the region. Speaking during a News Central Town Hall meeting in Rivers on Thursday, Okaba, a Professor of Sociology, described the Rivers crisis as part of a broader agenda of state capture.

“The Rivers situation is just a symptom of a deeper political dysfunction. This isn’t just about Rivers State—it’s about the entire Niger Delta,” Okaba warned.