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Rivers Lawmakers Adopt Improvised Chamber To Pass Budget

The Rivers State House of Assembly has passed the 2014 Appropriation Bill into law at the State Government House in Port Harcourt. A total of … Continue reading Rivers Lawmakers Adopt Improvised Chamber To Pass Budget


The Rivers State House of Assembly has passed the 2014 Appropriation Bill into law at the State Government House in Port Harcourt.

A total of 485 billion Naira was approved by the lawmakers on Wednesday, the same day the budget was presented to the lawmakers by the governor.

Presenting the budget, the governor of the State, Chibuike Amaechi, told the lawmakers that he proposed to spend a total of 485.5 billion Naira in 2014.

The speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Otelemaba Amachree, said that the session was held at the Government House because the House’s chamber was under renovation.

The State House of Assembly was vandalised during a free-for-all last year, an incident that made the National Assembly sought permission to take over the legislation of the state chamber.

“The chamber was vandalised and we do not have access to the complex,” Mr Amachree explained.

Before the governor presented the budget, a motion was moved for the adoption of the improvised chamber as the chamber of the House.

After the budget was presented to the House, the lawmakers deliberated on the budget and passed it.

A member of the house that is part of the anti-Amaechi faction, Mr Kelechi Nwogu, condemned the gathering of the lawmakers in the Government House, saying it is illegal and unconstitutional.

“The only way you can move out from the Rivers State House of Assembly to do a function, everybody must sit in the existing chamber and we will move a motion that the particular function will not be held there and the majority of the House members will agree and then move it to anywhere. The motion must be moved in the existing house,” he said.

The budget was read and passed on the same day at the ‘improvised Government House chamber, a circumstance Mr Nwogu said was a violation of the constitution.

“After the motion for the second reading of the bill has been made and seconded, the debate thereon shall be adjourned for not less than two days…,” he said, reading from the constitution.

“The governor presented the bill, they sat today, they passed the bill and the governor signed the bill into law today. I have never seen where this happens,” he stressed.