Worlu Accuses Ibas of Omitting Rivers Assembly From Budget, Faults Fubara’s Post-Suspension Actions

|By Chinwendu Nwani

Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Gift Worlu, has accused the former Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Ibok-Ete Ibas, of excluding the State House of Assembly from the budget he prepared during his six-month tenure.

Worlu said the omission stemmed from the suspension of the Assembly at the time, which led Ibas to present the state’s budget to the National Assembly without making provisions for lawmakers or the Assembly Service Commission.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Worlu argued that the lapse required immediate correction upon the return of the elected government. He said the governor was expected to submit a supplementary budget to address the funding gaps affecting the Assembly and its operations.

According to him, political stakeholders also agreed that commissioners should be appointed promptly to stabilise governance and reconcile aggrieved party members willing to move past the crisis.

Worlu, however, claimed that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has failed to take those steps since resuming office, accusing him instead of “playing to the gallery.”

The local government chairman made the remarks while criticising what he described as a lack of decisive governance following Fubara’s return from suspension.

Fubara had spent six months away from office after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and appointed Ibas as sole administrator.