Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, announced that his administration has commenced preparations for the 2025 budget, which will be presented soon.
He noted that the process is ongoing despite calls from the Martin Amaewhule-led Assembly for him to resubmit the 2024 budget proposal.
Governor Fubara made this statement while addressing a delegation from Etche and Omuma Local Government Areas, who paid him a solidarity visit at the government house in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He urged the people to disregard the calls from the Amaewhule group, asserting that they are not legitimate.
Governor Fubara revealed that he had intended to assist the Assembly members before learning about their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Although he did not specify how he planned to assist the lawmakers, it may have been through the implementation of the political solutions outlined in the Presidential Peace Pact, which he appears to have abandoned.
He emphasised that Martin Amaewhule and others who announced their defection in December 2023 have already lost their seats.
“I wanted to help them. We all knew what happened when they crossed and how did they cross? Because of our God for them to make that mistake.
“They are gone, they are gone.”
The Governor explained that the seats of the defected lawmakers were declared vacant in December 2023 by the then legally recognised Speaker, Edison Ehie, who now serves as his Chief of Staff.
He assured that the 2025 budget will prioritise education, healthcare, and agriculture, which were part of the requests of the delegation, whose major occupation is farming.
Governor Fubara also assured that his administration is working with the police to resolve the herders-farmers clashes in both Local Government Areas to ensure peace and increased productivity.