- The Assembly called on Nigerians to implore the governor to sincerely follow the established due process in presenting the Appropriation bill
Rivers State House of Assembly says the state Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has not shown that he is ready to put an end to the political crisis rocking the State.
This is even as the lawmakers accused the governor of sabotaging the implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgement especially the aspect requiring him to re-present the 2025 Appropriation Bill.
The Assembly stated that the governor is only playing to the gallery in an attempt to portray the lawmakers as the bad guys and turn the members of the public against the them.
The Assembly called on Nigerians to implore the governor to sincerely follow the established due process in presenting the Appropriation bill.
The Chairman, House Committee on Information and Spokesperson of the House, Dr. Enemi Alabo George, disclosed this on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
He challenged the governor to produce the acknowledged copy of the lettert he sent to the House.
George said: ” Last week, we were told that on his way to Ogoni for a programme, the governor made a stopover at the gate of the House of Assembly Quarters to grant an interview to the press.
“In that interview, he claimed that he had sent a letter to the House of Assembly indicating his intention to visit and present the appropriation bill, a claim we found rather astonishing as no such letter was received by the House of Assembly.
“His aides later alleged that they forwarded a letter through whatsapp to some members of the House, which was also awkward, unprofessional and embarrassing.
“As I speak, the social media space is awash with stories about a purported letter from the Governor to the House of Assembly expressing his intention to visit the house to present the appropriation bill for the year 2025.
“Nothing can be farther from the truth. We want to state categorically that there is no such letter before the House of Assembly nor any of its staff. We challenge the Governor and his aides to produce an acknowledgement copy of such a letter or any evidence that such a letter was sent or received by the House of Assembly. It is absolutely untrue and unfortunate. The general public must as a matter of importance ignore such claim.
“It is now very obvious that if at all there was such a letter, the intended recipient was not the legislature, but the public, and the clear intention was to play to the gallery, whip up public sentiment, demonize the House of Assembly and set the public against us. This is demeaning, denigrating and perilously unfortunate.”
George said the governor frustrated all the efforts of the House to work with him to resolve the lingering crisis immediately after the Supreme Court judgement particularly on the aspect of presenting the Appropriation Bill in the interest of the state.
George said: “Recall after the recent Supreme court judgement on the budget of our state, it became absolutely necessary for the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara to present the appropriation bill to the legislature for consideration and passage.
“Also recall that immediately after the judgement, this house wrote to the Governor, calling on him to immediately present the budget for speedy consideration.
“It was our hope that by the 15th of March, 2025, we would have concluded the process of passing the appropriation bill into law, so as to give us enough time to approach the Federal Government to release funds meant for our state which have been seized by the judgement of the Supreme Court.
“This we did in the interest of our dear state and in pursuit of peace, recognizing that no government can function optimally without a harmonious co-existence between the executive and the legislature.
“This letter was rejected and the staff of the House of Assembly who attempted to deliver the mails were brutalised at the gate of the Government House and sent back. undeterred by this, the house resorted to use a courier service to deliver the mail. The Governor did not heed to our call, nor did he demonstrate any intention to.
“Recall again that the judgement of the Supreme Court invalidated the appointment of most of the Commissioners of the state. To bridge this gap and avoid a vacuum, this house immediately wrote to the Governor to submit the list of commissioners for immediate screening.
“Our letter was again rejected at the government house and we once again resorted to deliver the mail through a courier service. Rather than heed our call, the governor instructed them to go to court against us, which they have now done.
“The Governor went further to instruct all ministries, agencies and departments of government not to receive any correspondence from the Rivers State House of Assembly nor communicate with us in any manner”.
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