The Chairman of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Petitions and Complaints, Enemi George, on Tuesday, said they have turned down a N100,000 “Christmas gift” Governor Siminalayi Fubara gave to the lawmakers.
Geroge said the money transferred to their individual accounts was unsolicited and unlawful.
The lawmakers, in a statement on Tuesday, said spending public funds must follow due process, including legislative approval.
The statement, titled “Return of Unsolicited and Unapproved N100,000 Transferred to the Personal Accounts of Honourable Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the Executive Governor of Rivers State”, said the funds were immediately returned.
“Today, 30th December 2025, honourable members of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly received bank credit alerts of the sum of N100,000 each. The said unsolicited and unapproved amount was transferred on the instructions of the governor,” the statement read.
George said Fubara consistently drew from the state consolidated revenue account without the lawmakers’ approval since assuming office in 2023, in defiance of the Supreme Court and the Constitution.
He said “we are aware of staff who connive with the governor to contravene the constitution and laws of Rivers State. Their actions are unlawful. We assure the good people of Rivers State that we will not relent in performing our constitutional duties.”
Civil servants in the state also received similar Christmas bonuses following standard approvals, highlighting the House’s concern that the transfer to lawmakers bypassed due process.
The House had adjourned plenary to January 26, 2026.
Fubara was yet to submit the 2026 appropriation bill and the names of commissioner-nominees since resuming from return from suspension with only eight commissioners unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling recognizing Martin Amaewhule as Speaker.
