The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), along with other key officials, has been summoned to appear before the Joint National Assembly Ad Hoc Committee on Emergency Rule to defend the proposed ₦1.48 trillion 2025 budget for the state.
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), Senate Leader and Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee, disclosed this during the committee’s inaugural meeting held at the National Assembly in Abuja. The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Senate on Tuesday.
The Senate assured Nigerians that the federal legislature remains committed to ensuring that the people of Rivers State are not deprived of essential services despite the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu on March 18, 2025.
Last week, President Tinubu requested the Senate and House of Representatives to approve a ₦1.48 trillion appropriation for Rivers State under emergency administration, citing constitutional provisions that vest legislative powers in the National Assembly when a state legislature is suspended or non-functional.
In his letter, read on the Senate floor by President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu said the budget would cover critical sectors such as education, agriculture, and healthcare—including the provision of free drugs.
Following the emergency declaration, Akpabio constituted an 18-member Joint Committee chaired by Senator Bamidele to provide legislative oversight.
Attendees at the inaugural meeting included Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Tahir Munguno; Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Peter Nwebonyi; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Adamu Aliero; Chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Sani Musa; Chairman of the Banking Committee, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru; and Chairperson of the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Committee, Senator Oluranti Adebule.
