Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, Has Defended His Decision To Present The 2025 Budget To Only Three Lawmakers, Arguing That The 27 State House Of Assembly Members Who Defected From The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) To The All Progressives Congress (APC) Have Permanently Forfeited Their Seats.
Amid A Political Rift With His Predecessor And FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Fubara Asserted There Is No Legal Recourse For The Defected Lawmakers To Regain Their Positions.
Speaking After Signing The ₦1.1 Trillion 2025 Budget At The Rivers State House In Port Harcourt, Fubara Criticized Wike’s Camp For Repeated Insults And Declared He Would No Longer Tolerate Further Disrespect. He Also Dismissed Allegations Of A Factional Assembly, Insisting That The Three-Member Legislative Body, Led By Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo, Is The State’s Sole Legitimate Legislature.
Fubara Said, “I Want To Say This, Maybe For Some Persons Somewhere Who Are Still Mixing Up Issues. We Have Only One Assembly, And That Assembly Is Headed By Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo.”
The Governor Compared The Defected Lawmakers’ Actions To A Failed Expedition, Saying, “A Group Of Friends About Nine Months Ago Embarked On What Is Called A Sea-Bared Journey; Halfway Through The Vessel, While They Were Coasting, They Realized That They Were Entering The Den Of Devils And Sharks, And They Now Want To Retreat. It Is Too Late, And The Truth Is That We Are Not Going Back.”
Fubara Reiterated His Commitment To Defending The State’s Integrity, Adding, “We Have Given Them Enough Room For Peace. There Is No Governor In Nigeria Who 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. As Far As I Am Concerned, We Have Moved On.”
