Reps Demand Answers Over N24bn CCTV, N30bn Gunboat Allocation in Rivers Budget

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee on Rivers oversight has faulted allocations in the state’s N1.48 trillion 2025 budget, particularly the N24 billion for CCTV and N30 billion for gunboats.

Speaking during a budget defence session on Monday in Abuja, committee chair Julius Ihonvbere criticised the absence of a medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and flagged a lack of clarity around the controversial allocations.

“We need additional details for those allocations,” Ihonvbere said. “We request details of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months.”

He further questioned the N23 billion set aside for contingencies and queried why the state is funding federal projects without a reimbursement agreement.

“We also need details of transfers to local governments — essentially, how local government funds that came into the state are being managed at the moment,” he added. “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.”

Andrew Nweke, senior special assistant on strategy and policy, responded on behalf of sole administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas, stating that many of the budgetary items were inherited.

See Also

Madagascar’s New Military Leader Michael Randrianirina Faces AU Sanctions Threat Ahead of Swearing-In

He defended the controversial line items, saying, “The CCTV allocation was for modern surveillance infrastructure at the government house,” while “the gunboats were meant to aid security agencies patrolling the Rivers’ waterways.”

On the contingency fund, Nweke said it would be used to address “flooding, insecurity, and other emergencies.”