‘If The Budget Had Not Been Passed Earlier, It Is Not An Offence For The Governor To Spend’ -Oshoma

A Lawyer and Political Affairs Analyst, Liborous Oshoma, has stated that Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara is not committing an offense by making expenditures before the state assembly passes the 2026 budget.

Speaking during an interview with TVC, Oshoma explained the constitutional provisions allowing anticipatory spending. “We all know that by constitutional provisions, if a budget—even though the budget cycle ends by 31st of December, but between that 31st and March of the preceding year, the governor also has what they call anticipatory budgetary. If the budget had not been passed earlier, it is not an offence for the governor to spend provided they will be captured in the project or when the budget is presented, pending approval. The governor has powers to spend anticipatorily between January and March,” he said.

The analyst also addressed lawmakers’ allegations that the governor has failed to implement local government autonomy, clarifying the constitutional framework governing such matters.

Oshoma explained that local government autonomy implementation is a federal government directive rather than a state-level decision. He referenced constitutional provisions regarding the State Local Government Joint Account, arguing that despite its name, it functions strictly as a local government account for disbursement purposes rather than a state-controlled fund.

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