…Issue 48hr ultimatum for details
The 10th House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on Rivers State has queried the allocation of ₦24 billion in the state’s proposed 2025 budget for the installation of CCTV cameras at the Government House.
The committee issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Sole Administrator of the state Vice-Admiral Ibok-Eke Ibas (rtd), to submit a detailed breakdown of major components of the ₦1.48 trillion appropriation Bill.
Chairman of the committee, Julius Ihonvbere, issued the ultimatum during a budget defence session held in Abuja on Monday, stating that the committee had gone through the budget as presented by the sole administrator, and had raised several issues.
He also queried the allocation of ₦30 billion for the purchase of gun boats and ₦23 billion earmarked for contingency reserves, requesting for justification of the sum. He asked the administrator should submit the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is a legal document that should precede budget presentation.
The chairman said that the committee also observed and questioned the allocation of State funds to existing federal projects without agreement with the Federal Government refunds among others.
“We need additional details for those allocations. We request details of state Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months to enable us to know your financial flows so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.
“We also need details of transfers to local governments, essentially how local government funds that come into the State are being managed at the moment”, he said.
