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”.