Reps probe N24bn CCTV camera allocation in Rivers’ N1.48tn budget
House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee over-sighting Rivers State has queried the proposal by the state government to allocate N24 billion for Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in its 2025 budget.
The chairman of the Committee, Julius Ihonbvere, who issued the query, on Monday, gave the Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Eke Ibas (retd), a 48-hour ultimatum to submit a breakdown of major items in the 2025 Appropriation Bill of the state.
He also directed the Sole Administrator to submit the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which, as required by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution which should precede budget presentation.
He also queried the allocation of N30 billion for the purchase of gunboats and another N23 billion budgeted for contingency reserves.
Ihonbvere, who is who is the Majority Leader of the house, also requested for details of the allocations to Local Government Councils in the last three months, so as to weigh it with the debt financing, transfers to Local Governments, and how funds allocated are being managed.
The chairman said that the committee also observed and questioned the allocation of state funds to existing federal projects without agreement with the Federal Government, including refunds, among others.
“We need additional details for those allocations. We request details of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months to enable us to know your financial flows so that we can weigh them against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.
“We also need details of transfers to local governments, essentially, how local government funds that come into the state are being managed at the moment,” Ihonvbere said.
“Those documents we have requested must reach us within 48 hours; rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting rivers working again.
“We want to ensure that we will promote a lot of accountability and ensure that the interest of the people themselves, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected,” he added.
The lawmaker commended President Bola Tinubu for his intervention that brought about peace between the suspended Executive and Legislature in the state.
Ibas, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Strategy and Policy, Andrew Nweke, had told the lawmakers that the N30 billion earmarked for gunboats was to support security agencies to combat insecurity on the waterways.
Nweke explained that the N24 billion earmarked for CCTV in the Rivers State Government House was informed by the need for modern security surveillance.
He assured the lawmakers that all the required documents would be provided by the sole administrator.
