The budget was presented to the five-man Assembly led by Victor Oko-Jumbo on Monday.

The governor signed the bill on Thursday,  after it was passed by the House of Assembly led by Speaker Oko-Jumbo.

Governor Fubara insisted that Martins Amaewhule and 26 other members who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) seized to be recognised as legislators in line with the law.

He said: “I want to say this may be for some persons somewhere who are still mixing up issues. We have only one Assembly and that Assembly is headed by Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo.

“A group of friends about nine months ago embarked on what is called a sea-bared journey. Halfway, the vessel while they were coasting, they realized that they were entering the den of devils and sharks and now wanted to retreat.

“It is too late and the truth is that we are not going back. We have given them enough room for peace. There is no governor in Nigeria that can take the kind of insult I took from those set of people.

“As it stands now our major target is the interest of Rivers State and we will continue to defend the integrity of governance and as far as I am concerned, we have moved on”.

The governor vowed to ensure full implementation of the 2025 budget and thanked everyone that contributed in passing the bill.

He said: “Let me thank everyone who has made this possible. We made a promise to you that we will continue to keep the interest of Rivers State first. Now that this bill has been signed I can assure you that every projection in it, we will kick start so that the record of performance that was accorded this administration in 2024 will be higher this year 2025”.

Governor Fubara thanked his management team including his executive council members, his deputy, commissioner for finance among others, saying, “We expect you to do more because we have a bigger task ahead of us and we have made some promises to our people in education, health, and agriculture. We must ensure that we make a good impact just as we have done in the areas of roads and other aspects of the economy.”

On his part, Oko-Jumbo commended Fubara for his “purposeful leadership which has improved the welfare of the people including the civil servants who are rejoicing over the implementation of N85,000 minimum wage and Christmas bonuses.”

He assured that the state Assembly would continue to work with him to ensure that more development beyond what was accomplished in 2024 is attained in 2025, especially with the appropriation bill signed into law.