News
APC bombs Fubara for presenting budget to 3-man House of Assembly
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo-led Rivers State House of Assembly was illegal and in violation of court rulings and established governance protocols.
APC Chairman in the state, Chief Tony Okocha, disclosed this yesterday while speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt. He said the governor’s actions demonstrated a blatant disregard for the rule of law and judicial pronouncements.
Okocha stated that the January 2024 ruling by Justice Omotosho, which mandated that budgets be presented to the legislative arm led by Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, was recognised by law.
He said: “It is unimaginable that a governor with such a rich background in finance and governance would choose to sidestep legal processes. The Assembly has 30 functional members, yet the budget was presented in a setting that courts have described as illegitimate,” he said.
The APC chairman, who criticised the governor’s leadership style, labelling it divisive and confrontational, accused him of stoking hostilities rather than fostering reconciliation.
Okocha said: “I expected the governor to use the new year to extend an olive branch and promote peace, but instead, he continues to fuel the flames of division.”
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara has signed the N1.1trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill into law, declaring that Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo remains the Speaker of the only House of Assembly in the State.
The governor signed the bill yesterday after thorough scrutiny and passage of the budget by the Oko-Jumbo-led State House of Assembly.
Fubara insisted that Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule and 26 other members who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) seized to be recognised as legislators in line with the law.
The governor said: “I want to say this may be for some persons somewhere who are still mixing up issues. We have only one Assembly, and that Rt heads the Assembly. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo.
“A group of friends about nine months ago embarked on a sea-bared journey. Halfway through the vessel, while they were coasting, they realised they were entering the den of devils and sharks and now wanted to retreat.
“It is too late, and the truth is that we are not going back. We have given them enough room for peace. No governor in Nigeria can take the kind of insult I took from those set of people.
“As it stands now, our major target is the interest of Rivers State, and we will continue to defend the integrity of governance, and as far as I am concerned, we have moved on”.
The governor vowed to ensure full implementation of the 2025 budget and thanked everyone who contributed to passing the bill.
Fubara said, “Let me thank everyone who has made this possible. We promised you that we would continue to put Rivers State’s interests first. Now that this bill has been signed, I can assure you that we will kick start every projection so that the record of performance that was accorded to this administration in 2024 will be higher this year, 2025.”
He thanked his management team, including his executive council members, his deputy, and the commissioner for finance, among others, saying, “We expect you to do more because we have a more significant task ahead of us, and we have made some promises to our people in education, health, and agriculture.
“We must ensure that we make a good impact just as we have done in the areas of roads and other aspects of the economy”.
The Osun State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has received thousands of decampees from the All Progressives Congress and other political parties into its fold.
The decampees, who are mostly from the Omisore Youth Support Forum (OYSF) joined the party at a ceremony held at party secretariat in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, on Wednesday.
The were received by the Chairman of the PDP in Osun, Hon. Sunday Bisi, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuff and other party leader.
While receiving the decampees, Bisi renamed the group as Adeleke Youth Support Forum (AYSF) as they declared their support for Adeleke’s 2026 re-election bid.
One of the leaders of the decampees, Mr Francis Fasogbon said they were “inspired by the good governance delivered by Governor Ademola Adeleke”.
Hon. Dennis Agbo, representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency in the 10th House of Representatives, has resigned from the Labour Party (LP) and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Addressing aa gathering in his ward, Ezzodo, Agbo cited his admiration for Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubisi Mba’s performance, as the reason for his decision.
“I acknowledge Governor Mba’s outstanding work, and I believe it’s essential to support him,” Agbo said. “As a federal legislator from Enugu State, I’m joining hands with him to provide a link between the state and federal government, promoting the good work he’s doing to uplift our state.”
Agbo, who was elected on the LP ticket, expressed his desire to work with Governor Mba, citing the governor’s vision and achievements since his inauguration in 2023.
He also emphasized that the internal crisis and division within the Labour Party was part of the factors influencing his decision to leave the party and return to PDP.
The lawmaker invited his supporters and members of Labour Party to a formal ceremony marking his transition to PDP, scheduled for May 1, 2025, at the PDP State Secretariat in Enugu.
Governor Alex Otti says he is not bothered about the noise coming from members of the opposition parties in Abia State.
Otti said his critics should not be taken serious as they are not coming out to contest elections but to seek negotiations and relevance.
Governor Otti stated this while receiving the member representing Bende North constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Nnamdi Ibekwe who recently dumped the PDP and joined the Labour Party, LP in Abia State.
“We are not bothered about the oppositions and their noise. There are different reasons why people show up for elections.
Sometimes, they just want recognition; that their names showed up for the primaries, knowing fully well that they will not win the election.
“Some of them also come for negotiations and then of course, some others also show up for projections; they look at themselves and say, ‘if I start the noise in 2025, maybe by 2040, they will know that I have been in the race and they will call me and recognize me’, so they are projecting themselves,” Gov. Otti explained.
Governor Otti said he is rather focused on doing the job the people elected him to do and respond to the noise of the opposition across the State.
He congratulated Nnamdi Ibekwe for dumping the PDP for LP, explaining that nobody pressured him to come over to the LP, reiterating that he does not emphasize much on political platforms.
Earlier while presenting himself to the Governor, the member representing Bende North constituency, Nnamdi Ibekwe said he was attracted to the Labour Party by the achievements of Governor Alex Otti which he described as unprecedented.
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