President Bola Tinubu has submitted the Rivers State 2025 Appropriation bill to the National Assembly, seeking approval for a total expenditure of N1.481 trillion for the State for the 2025 fiscal year. This action follows the Supreme Court's nullification of the 2025 budget previously passed by the administration of the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Rivers State is currently under emergency rule following a Presidential proclamation in March 2025, which was approved by the National Assembly.

In the absence of a functioning State Assembly, President Tinubu, in line with constitutional provisions, forwarded the reworked 2025 Rivers State Appropriation bill to the Senate for approval. A breakdown of the proposed budget reveals that N324 billion is allocated to both ongoing and new infrastructure projects. The health sector is set to receive N166 billion, with N5 billion specifically earmarked for providing free malaria treatment drugs. Education is another critical area, with N75.6 billion allocated to the sector. Additionally, N31.4 billion will be spent on agriculture, with the government aiming to generate approximately 6,000 jobs.

The Senate promptly referred the proposed 2025 Rivers State Budget to its Ad-hoc Committee on Emergency Rule in Rivers State for further legislative action. President Tinubu has appealed to the National Assembly to urgently pass the budget for the benefit of Rivers State and its people. The move is aimed at ensuring the continued governance and development of the state under the current emergency circumstances.

The President’s communication to the National Assembly emphasized the necessity of the intervention, stating that Rivers State has been under emergency rule since March 2025, which suspends the functions of the state assembly. Regulation 4, subsection 2(f) of the Emergency Rule 2025 provisions, dictates that any financial appropriation from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund must receive federal legislative authorisation. He stated that the National Assembly is expected to perform the role of the state legislature under the emergency rule framework.

The proposed spending plan prioritizes investment in critical sectors such as infrastructure, health, education, and agriculture, which is projected to generate approximately 6,000 jobs. The President expressed hope for a swift and positive action by the Senate.

Tinubu’s administration presented five reasons so that the Supreme Court could dismiss the suit challenging his suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers. Tinubu-led federal government, through the office of the AGF, filed the claims in defence of the suit filed by 11 PDP governors against the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers.

The Rivers budget crisis dates back to 2023 when the state’s house of assembly was polarised into two factions. In December 2023, Fubara presented an N800 billion budget estimate for 2024 to a five-member house of assembly led by Edison Ehie. Barely 24 hours later, the Rivers governor signed the 2024 appropriation bill into law. In January 2024, a federal high court in Abuja voided and set aside the presentation and passage of the 2024 budget. The court also barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers state. James Omotoso, the presiding judge, had ordered Fubara to re-present the budget to the “legally” constituted house of assembly. In October 2024, a court of appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgment of the federal high court. The judgment of the federal high court was upheld by the supreme court on February 28. Fubara had, in January 2025, mirrored the 2023 incident by presenting a N1.18 trillion 2025 appropriation bill to just four members of the house of assembly. He signed the bill into law within 72 hours.