Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
After about threemonths of inactivity, the Rivers State House of Assembly received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) document from Governor Siminialayi Fubara, following resumption of legislative sitting yesterday.
The MTEF, which provides the fiscal framework for government spending and revenue projections over a three-year period, was transmitted to the Assembly through a letter read by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, during the first legislative sitting of the Fourth Session of the Tenth Assembly.
Reading the letter, Amaewhule informed the House that he was in receipt of the MTEF document, which was later laid before the House by the Majority Leader, Hon. Major Jack, who is also the leader of government business.
According to the Speaker, the letter from Governor Fubara conveyed the administration’s proposed Medium Term Expenditure Framework for 2026–2028, a document expected to guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill and subsequent annual budgets.
However, lawmakers deferred debate on the framework to a later legislative day to allow for detailed examination and scrutiny of its contents.
The submission is regarded as a crucial statutory requirement in the budgeting process, as the MTEF sets out the government’s economic assumptions, projected revenues, expenditure ceilings and development priorities over a medium-term period.
Although details of the fiscal projections contained in the document were not immediately disclosed during plenary, sources indicated that the framework is expected to reflect the administration’s commitment to infrastructure development, human capital advancement and sustainable economic growth across the state.
The House last convened more than three months ago for the screening of commissioner nominees submitted by Governor Fubara. Prior to that, lawmakers had met on January 8, when impeachment proceedings were initiated against the governor before the Assembly adjourned and subsequently failed to reconvene on its scheduled resumption date of January 15.
Also, the House received a petition from the Ngo- Oyorokoto Communities Stakeholders, which was presented by Hon. Ofiks Kagbang, praying the House, among others, to cause a full legislative investigation into the circumstances surrounding the stoppage and abandonment of the Ngo-Oyorokoto Atlantic Road Project.
