The Rivers State House of Assembly, chaired by Martin Amaewhule, has suspended all expenditures by Governor Siminalayi Fubara until he presents his budget to the members.
The move came during plenary on Monday, after MPs handed the governor a seven-day deadline to present his budget to the House.
Major Jack, the House Leader, moved to advise the House that the governor’s seven-day deadline to bring the 2024 budget to the House had expired.
After consideration, the House voted to close the Rivers State Consolidated Revenue Account, preventing Fubara’s administration from spending any funds on behalf of the state.
Chronicle NG reported that the Amaewhule-led Assembly had given Fubara on July 8 a seven-day deadline to resubmit the 2024 budget and also accused him of breaching the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
In a letter dated July 8, 2024, signed by Amaewhule and delivered to Fubara on Monday, the House criticised the governor’s constitutional violations.
This order was issued at the first session of the pro-Wike House after a months-long hiatus.
The Rivers State governor had earlier presented the budget to the faction, and Edison Ehie, his current Chief of Staff, presided as Speaker.
Ehie and other pro-Fubara lawmakers approved the budget estimates, which the governor then signed into law.
The ongoing political crisis between the governor’s followers and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, has been marked by multiple interventions to resolve their disputes.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
