The Rivers State House of Assembly has opened a probe into the expenditures of the state’s Sole Administrator, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), raising questions over multi-billion-naira budgetary allocations made under his watch.
Lawmakers flagged several eyebrow-raising items in the #1.48 trillion 2025 budget, including #mN24 billion for the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) at the Government House, N30 billion for the procurement of gunboats, and N23 billion set aside as a contingency reserve.
The Assembly’s ad-hoc committee has now directed Ibas to, within 48 hours, submit detailed breakdowns and justifications for these allocations.
The probe will also cover Rivers State’s Internally Generated Revenue, transfers to the 23 Local Government Areas, and the absence of a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which usually guides state budgets.
While defending his administration, Ibas insisted that many of the allocations were inherited from the previous government and assessed by relevant agencies.
He argued that the N30 billion provision for gunboats was necessary to curb insecurity on the state’s waterways, while the contingency reserve was intended to cushion unforeseen challenges, including natural disasters like flooding.
The Assembly’s move underscores mounting concerns over accountability in Rivers State, where governance has been under a state of emergency and constitutional political structures suspended.
