PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — The Rivers State House of Assembly has begun formal consideration of Gov. Siminalayi Fubara’s proposed 1.854 trillion-naira (S1.2 billion) 2026 budget, giving the spending plan a second reading Tuesday after roughly six weeks of legislative review. Fubara presented the proposal July 10, describing it as the “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development,” with the administration saying it is intended to expand infrastructure, strengthen public services and support economic growth in one of Nigeria’s most important oil-producing states.
House Leader Major Jack moved the motion for the second reading, while Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol described the proposal as ambitious and the largest budget presented in Rivers State’s history. Maol urged lawmakers to closely examine individual allocations to ensure public money is directed to appropriate purposes. Speaker Martin Amaewhule said Assembly committees would conduct detailed scrutiny of the spending plan and summon ministries, departments and agencies for budget-defense sessions before final approval. The Assembly adjourned until Sept. 3 as the review continues.
The proposed budget totals 1.854 trillion naira, including about 1.405 trillion naira for capital expenditure spending on infrastructure and other long-term projects and roughly 413.1 billion naira for recurrent costs such as salaries and government operations. The government expects about 487.6 billion naira from internally generated revenue and about 936.1 billion naira from federal allocations, including oil derivation payments and value-added tax. The overall revenue projection is about 24.5% higher than the state’s adjusted 2025 budget.
The weeks-long gap between Fubara’s presentation and the second reading had fueled speculation of another disagreement between the governor and the Amaewhule-led legislature. The Rivers government rejected those suggestions in August, saying the executive and lawmakers were cooperating and that reports of a renewed political rift were misleading. The budget process is being watched closely because Fubara’s July appearance before the Assembly was his first formal budget presentation to the Amaewhule-led chamber since a political crisis fractured the legislature in 2023.
That history gives the budget debate significance beyond the figures themselves. A prolonged confrontation between Fubara and lawmakers, many of whom were politically aligned with his predecessor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, disrupted governance and contributed to an impeachment confrontation. President Bola Tinubu declared emergency rule in Rivers in March 2025, suspended the governor and lawmakers for six months and said the intervention was necessary “to arrest the drift toward anarchy.” Tinubu lifted the emergency in September 2025 and restored Fubara and the legislature after saying relations among political leaders had improved.
The progress of the budget is closely watched nationally because Rivers sits at the heart of Nigeria’s Niger Delta petroleum industry and is an important center for crude production, exports, ports and energy infrastructure. Political instability in the state has previously raised concerns about pipeline security and Nigeria’s ability to maintain oil output, which remains critical to government revenue and foreign-exchange earnings. A smooth passage and implementation of the 2026 budget would therefore be seen not only as a test of Fubara’s development agenda but also as an indication of whether the political reconciliation that followed emergency rule can produce more stable government in one of Africa’s largest oil-producing regions.
