Rivers Assembly faction loyal to Wike adjourns plenary indefinitely

The Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly has adjourned its plenary indefinitely.

The decision was announced during a session held at the assembly quarters in Port Harcourt on Friday.

Budget presentation controversy

The move comes just a day after Governor Siminalayi Fubara wrote to the assembly requesting a new date for the presentation of the 2025 appropriation bill.

In a letter dated March 13 and personally signed by Fubara, the governor proposed Wednesday, March 19, or any other convenient date within the month for the budget presentation.

Fubara noted that this was his second notice to the lawmakers, stressing that his actions align with the Supreme Court’s February 28 ruling, which ordered him to present the budget to the assembly.

On Wednesday, Fubara and some of his commissioners were prevented from accessing the Rivers Assembly quarters in Port Harcourt to present the 2025 budget.

Political crisis deepens

The development follows a Supreme Court ruling on the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State.

Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), have been locked in a political battle over control of the state’s leadership structure.

The rift has caused a deep division within the state assembly. While the Amaewhule-led faction is loyal to Wike, the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led faction supports Fubara.

In December 2024, Fubara presented a 2025 budget proposal of N1.1 trillion to the Oko-Jumbo-led assembly.

On February 28, the Supreme Court upheld a federal high court ruling barring the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from releasing Rivers State’s statutory allocations.

The court ordered the CBN to withhold the state’s financial allocation until Fubara submits the appropriation bill to the Amaewhule-led assembly faction.