• Ask Ibas to Justify Another N23bn Put Under Contingency

The Rivers state Administrator Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas has been caught in a web of questions as the House of Representatives has asked him to explain some budget statements believed to have no justifications.

Among items the lower chamber of the National Assembly wants Ibas to explain are a N25bn stated for the procurement of CCTV cameras, N30bn for gunboats and another N23bn which the lawmakers said they could not find any justification for.

Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Oversight on Rivers  State, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, had raised questions on the submitted N1.48trn Appropriation presented by the administration of Ibas.

According to Ihonvbere, the items listed required justifications to ensure transparency, accountability, and the sustainable development of Rivers State.

NPO Reports that Ibas was appointed to lead the state after the protracted war between the suspended Governor Sim Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.

It was gathered that the Committee also queried the decision of the Rivers State Government to fund projects constitutionally under the purview of the Federal Government, allegedly without prior agreement or expectation of reimbursement.

After long session of questioning, the Administrator was given 24 hours to submit a detailed breakdown and justification for the highlighted expenditure items and a copy of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), as a statutory document that should precede any budget presentation.

Ibas was also given a matching order to provide a detailed records of monthly Federal Allocations and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from January to June 2025, with specific attention to IGR over the past three months to assess fiscal flows and financing capacity;

Full disclosure on the management of Local Government funds, including the legal and administrative frameworks currently in place; 5. Documentary evidence of financial transfers made to each of the 23 Local Government Areas;

All records related to the Airforce Base Agreement referenced during the budget presentation.

According to Ihonvbere, ““We want to ensure that we promote accountability and that the interests of the people, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected. Be rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers working again.”