The immediate past Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), and the Rivers State House of Assembly may be gearing up for a showdown following the latter’s decision to probe the state’s expenditure over the last few months under the former, The PUNCH reports.
Ibas ceased to be the administrator of the oil-rich state on September 17, following the end of the six-month emergency rule, after President Bola Tinubu directed the suspended state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the state House of Assembly members to return to office from the previous Thursday.
The Rivers State House of Assembly, presided over by the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, during its first plenary after the end of emergency rule, said it would investigate the state expenditure during the six months of emergency rule.
According to the resolutions of the House, “To explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule with regard to spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditure.”
Findings by The PUNCH showed that Rivers State received at least N254.37bn from the Federation Account Allocation Committee between March and August 2025 under the tenure of the sole administrator.
This figure is based on an analysis of FAAC data from the National Bureau of Statistics and other sources.
While the NBS has released official breakdowns up to June, the figures for July and August were collated from documents presented at FAAC meetings obtained and reviewed by The PUNCH.
The data show Rivers took home N44.66bn in March, N44.42bn in April, N42.80bn in May and N42.30bn in June, according to NBS.
In July, the state received about N38.42bn, while in August it collected N41.76bn, according to the documents analysed.
These brought total net allocations in the six months to N254.37bn, averaging N42.40bn per month.
If September follows the same trend, Rivers’ inflows could reach nearly N297bn in seven months.
However, the structure of these allocations highlights the state’s heavy dependence on the 13 per cent derivation from oil revenue.
A breakdown shows that the 13 per cent oil derivation remained the largest single source of income.
Between March and August, Rivers received N133.24bn in derivation, equivalent to about 52.4 per cent of its FAAC allocations.
In March, derivation amounted to N25.29bn, nearly five times the statutory allocation of N5.14bn, while in May it stood at N25.70bn against N6.05bn in statutory allocation.
Even in June, when derivation dropped to N20.94bn, it still surpassed all other components.
This dominance shows the risk of volatility, given that more than half of Rivers’ receipts hinge on oil-linked revenue streams.
Debt servicing has been a major burden on the state’s allocation. Between March and August, Rivers lost N26.31bn to external debt or foreign loan deductions.
This included a steady N4.56bn monthly from March through July and a reduced N3.54bn in August.
The deductions, which represent over 10 per cent of the state’s statutory allocation during the period, significantly eroded its gross receipts before other obligations such as contractual deductions, ecology transfers, and VAT adjustments were applied.
VAT receipts nonetheless provided an important cushion, with about N107.78bn received, which made up about 42.4 per cent of the total FAAC net allocation.
