In a statement released on Tuesday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Petitions and Complaints, Enemi George, said the Assembly had already begun steps to return the money. He stressed that every public spending must follow due process and receive legislative approval.
The statement was titled, ‘Return of Unsolicited and Unapproved One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000) Transferred to the Personal Accounts of Honourable Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara’. It explained that the funds were sent without the consent of the lawmakers.
“Today, the 30th day of December 2025, honourable members of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly received bank credit alerts of the sum of one hundred thousand naira (N100,000) each,” the statement said.
“The said unsolicited and unapproved amount was transferred on the instructions of the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, to the personal accounts of members.
“Upon discovery of these unsolicited and unapproved transfers, honourable members of the House took immediate steps to formally return the said funds to the account of the Rivers State Government.”
George further accused the governor of repeatedly withdrawing funds from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account without approval from the House since he assumed office in 2023.
“As an institution established by law and guided strictly by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Rivers State House of Assembly maintains that all public expenditures must follow due process, including legislative approval,” he said.
“The governor, since assumption of office in 2023, has consistently drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Account of Rivers State without legislative approval, despite repeated warnings from the House, the judgment of the Supreme Court, and in defiance of the Constitution and the principles of separation of powers.”
He also warned civil servants who may be involved in such actions to stop, describing their conduct as unlawful.
“With the leave of Mr Speaker and the entire House, I use this medium to once again draw the attention of all staff of the Rivers State Government who connive with the governor and others to contravene the Constitution and laws of Rivers State to the fact that we have become aware of their unlawful conduct,” George said.
“We assure the good people of Rivers State that we will not relent in the performance of our constitutional duties.”
The House had earlier adjourned its plenary session to January 26, 2026. As of the time of the statement, Governor Fubara had not presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the Assembly, nor submitted names of commissioner-nominees.
Since his return from suspension after the lifting of emergency rule in the state, the governor has been running the government with eight commissioners. These commissioners were not affected by the Supreme Court judgment that recognised Martin Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
