Rivers State’s 2007 budget of N179 billion, nearly the size of the appropriation of about six states put together, initially appeared bloated and overambitious. But the recent approval by the State Legislators of a whopping N53.2 billon supplementary budget, representing a 29 percent increase, has raised a lot of questions. Of particular interest is, why is it the first major act of Celestine Omehia, governor of the state?

Omehia’s reason for a supplementary budget of N55 billion, which was later cut down to N53.2 billion by the State lawmakers, according to Tonye Harry, Speaker of the House of Assembly, is hinged on the increase in the statutory allocation formular.

 

To justify its call for the supplementary budget, Omehia’s administration is projecting to spend over N52 billion (over 98 percent of the figure) on building some capital projects and only N242 million (0.46 percent) on recurrent expenditure. One of such capital projects is a Rivers State version of Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies. Omehia’s defence is that the country has only one of such institutes, which is the one in Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State. To this end, the sum of N1.56 billion has been earmarked for its take-off. Another N500 million is appropriated for the building of a college of Medicine at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. The lawmakers claim that the assembly quarters do not befit their status, necessitating the appropriation of N800 million to build new ones. The budget also accommodates the building of the Phase II of the Port Harcourt International Market to be sited at Obigbo, while N9 billion is budgeted for a trans-Port Harcourt highway project that will transverse Eleme junction, Elelenwo, Aba Road, Old Port Harcourt Town and Eagle Island. However, some projects that appeared in the previous budget got increased allocation.

 

Sofiri Peterside, research fellow, Centre for Advanced Social Science, based in Port Harcourt, said everything about the Rivers State government budget is shrouded in secrecy. The magazine could not also lay hands on either the previous or the supplementary budget, even at the office of the clerk of the Assembly. But even without a copy of the budget, the impacts of the state’s budgets on the people can still be gauged, using the power, health, education and security sectors as indices. Peterside said, “The impacts are not visible. Perhaps, the exist on papers”. A whopping N60 billion is believed to have been expended on gas turbine in the last few years.

 

Anyakwe Nsirimovu, coordinator of Transition Monitoring Group in Rivers State, expressed similar outcry against the lack of transparency, and poor impact the state’s huge annual budgetary allocations have made on the people. According to Nsirimovu, “what will be the multiplier effect of a new Assembly quarters when the Rivers State University of Science and Technology is in a poor state and security of lives and property is zero?”

 

In the same spirit, a source at the Rivers State House of Assembly confided in the magazine that a supplementary budget, halfway into the year is a sign that Omehia is in a hurry. For passing the budget with only a minor reduction and with next-to-no-debate, it is alleged that the ‘honourables’ may have started enjoying ‘democracy dividends.’ It was gathered that a tour of South Africa may be in the offing. There is also a strong suspicion that Omehia is under pressure to settle ‘election liabilities’ of about N40 billion.