Senate Approves ₦1.485 Trillion 2025 Budget for Rivers State

The Senate has approved the 2025 budget of Rivers State, passing a total expenditure of ₦1.485 trillion.

The budget was passed following the presentation and adoption of the report from the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Rivers State during the Committee of Supply session.

According to the approved appropriation bill, a total of ₦1,485,662,592,442 will be drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Rivers State for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.

A breakdown of the budget shows ₦120.8 billion allocated for debt servicing, ₦287.38 billion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and ₦1.077 trillion earmarked for capital projects across the state.

During deliberations, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) raised concerns over an additional ₦50 billion allocated for the payment of outstanding pensions and gratuities. He urged the committee to ensure strict oversight to guarantee the prompt disbursement of funds to genuine pensioners.

The Rivers State 2025 budget was forwarded to the National Assembly in May by President Bola Tinubu, a rare move prompted by the ongoing political crisis in the state. The crisis led to the suspension of both the state’s House of Assembly and the executive arm under Governor Siminalayi Fubara.