Rivers Assembly Returns After Long Break, Receives 2026, 2028 Spending Plan

The Rivers State House of Assembly received the 2026, 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) from Governor Siminalayi Fubara during an emergency meeting on Thursday in Port Harcourt.

Speaker Martin Amaewhule read the governor’s letter to the lawmakers. This letter shared the three-year fiscal plan with the assembly at their legislative quarters on Aba Road. This meeting was the assembly's first in over three months. There had been increasing calls for the governor to present the state’s 2026 budget to the assembly.

This session was the House’s first gathering since March. Back then, they screened commissioner nominees sent by Mr Fubara but turned down four of them. They had last met on January 8, when they started impeachment proceedings against the governor due to a long political crisis in the state. After that, the lawmakers adjourned and did not meet again as planned on January 15.

The MTEF submission is an important step in preparing the budget. It gives expenditure and revenue forecasts that help in making yearly budgets. But the lawmakers did not discuss the document right away.

At the end of Thursday’s meeting, the House postponed the debate on the 2026, 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to a later date. The reason for the emergency meeting was not made clear before the session started. This led to guesses that the House might address issues related to the state’s budget.

This latest action shows a return to legislative work after months of no activity. This inactivity had caused worries among stakeholders about governance and financial planning in Rivers State.