Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara convened an emergency meeting with the members of the State Executive Council at the Government House on Monday.
Fubara called for the meeting following the defection of 27 members of the 32-member House of Assembly from the governing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress, (APC).
The lawmakers had dumped PDP for APC during a sitting of the House.
The lawmakers were seen brandishing the flags of the APC in a group photograph after the sitting.
Fubara and his predecessor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, have been at loggerheads over the party’s structure in the state.
However, the Rivers State Executive Council deliberated and approved an estimated budget of N800 billion for the 2024 fiscal year.
The Council also approved that the budget be christened “Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity.”
Addressing newsmen after the deliberation, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Warisenibo Johnson, said N412 billion was projected for capital expenditure. Recurrent expenditure is N361 billion.
He said: “We had the 5th council meeting of Rivers State. We deliberated on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which is usually a precursor to discussing the budget.
“An 83-page document was also presented. It has the budget estimate. The budget estimate for 2024 is N800 billion. And it is tagged: ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’.”
The Information Commissioner went on to say that “essentially, the budget is focused on some key areas with infrastructure taking N128 billion of the budget. It is followed by education, health and security.”
