The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday advanced the 2025 budget for Rivers State to the next stage of consideration, marking its passage through the second reading.
The financial proposal, totalling ₦1.48 trillion, was introduced on the Senate floor by Senate Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.
While presenting the bill, Bamidele stated that the Senate had taken up legislative authority for Rivers State due to the ongoing state of emergency declared in the region.
Supporting the motion, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola emphasized the urgency of enacting the budget to address the governance gap currently affecting the state’s residents.
“Mr President, I don’t know under what topic this document is christened but I could see it is about a budget of the state of emergency,” Adeola noted.
“I hereby support that the budget be passed for second reading so that the people of Rivers can feel the presence of government.”
With no opposition raised during the deliberation, Senate President Godswill Akpabio conducted a voice vote and subsequently referred the budget to the ad-hoc committee tasked with monitoring Rivers State under emergency administration.