Former House of Representatives member representing Port Harcourt II, Chinyere Igwe, has stated that the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, cannot simply walk into the chambers of parliament and present the state budget without proper procedure.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV from 4:46 after Fubara was denied access to the Assembly quarters, Igwe emphasized the importance of prior agreement and formal correspondence before a budget presentation. He argued that the governor’s approach was inappropriate and not in line with parliamentary practice.
Igwe stressed that the governor and the Speaker must first meet, as they are the key figures in the ongoing political crisis. He suggested that both leaders should agree to put past conflicts behind them and set a mutually accepted date for the budget presentation.
He stated that it is only after such an agreement that the parliament can resolve to admit the governor for the presentation. According to him, budget presentations cannot be done arbitrarily without due process.
He said, “You can’t just walk into the chambers of parliament to present a budget without agreeing based on correspondence. You don’t just go and say you want to present budget, you must clear the platform for engagement to agree before you start going to present budget. The governor didn’t do well in the manner with which he wanted to present the budget. The governor and the speaker need to meet, they are the two leaders in this crisis, they can agree, ‘okay, let bygones be bygones,’ agree on the date. The parliament will now resolve to admit the governor to come and present budget. You don’t just go and present budget. No, that’s not parliamentary practice.”
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