Politics

Rivers budget: TAF Africa CEO, Epelle knocks Tinubu

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7 months ago

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The Chief Executive Officer of TAF Africa, Jake Epelle, has criticized the presentation of the 2025 budget of Rivers State to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.

Epelle noted that the President has etched himself on the wrong side of history.

He made the criticism on Channels Television’s breakfast show, The Morning Brief, on Friday.

According to him, Tinubu’s action marked the first time in Nigeria’s democratic history that a sitting President presented a state budget, a move he said was worrisome.

“The President has made history, but this time on the wrong side of history.

“This unprecedented move is very worrisome because this is the first time a sitting President is presenting the budget of a state because of the void in the democratic structure of that state created by this emergency rule,” he said.

The TAF Africa boss emphasized that such action was “executive overreach,” arguing that there was no legal or democratic justification for it.

He also disclosed that there was initially an attempt to get the sole administrator to present the budget, but public scrutiny over its legality forced a change of strategy.

“Initially, they were going to push the so-called sole administrator to do this, and I think they realised when we called on them to examine the legality of a non-elected individual overseeing an elected office which is the institution of the state,” he explained.

Epelle questioned the integrity of any process that allows an unelected figure to administer a state’s resources.

According to him, Tinubu’s action, though historic, undermined democratic principles.

Ekwutosblog  reports that President Tinubu officially submitted the 2025 Appropriation Bill for Rivers State to the National Assembly for consideration on Thursday, following the suspension of the state’s House of Assembly.

In a letter addressed to the Senate President, Senator Goodwill Akpabio, the N1.481 trillion proposed budget has major allocations aimed at revitalising key sectors.

According to the proposal, the budget focuses on strategic investment in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and agriculture, with the aim of generating approximately 6,000 new jobs.

President Tinubu, in a formal communication to the National Assembly, President Tinubu asked the Senate for an expeditious consideration.

The Senate referred the bill to its Ad-hoc Committee on Emergency Rule, with instructions to review the proposal and report back to the chamber as soon as possible.

Tinubu also wrote to the House Representatives for the Rivers State budget approval, reminding the House that the Supreme Court had nullified the 2025 budget presented by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

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