Rivers 2017 budget never a secret document, government insists

Following the re-launch of the campaign for an open budget in Rivers State by the Executive Director of Integrity Group, Mr. Livingstone Wechie, the Rivers state government has insisted that the 2015 supplementary budget, as well as the 2016 and the 2017 budgets were available for the public to assess.

The state commissioner for budget and economic planning, Mr. Isaac Kamalu, who made this known while reacting to claims by Mr. Wechie that the budget was a secret document, said that several civil society organisations and interested members of the public had been accessing the budget through his ministry.

The commissioner stated that there was nothing secretive about the budget, noting that the process involved in the passage and accent to that state document were such that it could never be hidden from the public.

Also the Rivers State House of Assembly had indicated that the 2017 budget was successfully implemented by the state governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike, amidst debate on the accessibility of the document.

A statement released in Port Harcourt by the Chairman, House Committee on Finance of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Ehi Edison, during weekend commended Governor Nyesom Wike for diligent implementation of the 2017 budget.

The statement said the committee carried out its oversight functions on the budget, describing its implementation as a huge success.

The Executive Director of the Integrity Group, Mr. Livingstone Wechie, weekend re-launched his campaign for an open budget in Rivers State. Mr. Wechie on a live Television Programme accused Governor Nyesom Wike of running an administration where his commissioners,

including that of budget did not have access to the budget as approved by the Rivers State House of Assembly, not to talk about how it was being implemented. He said that it was fraudulent for the government to run a hidden budget.

Mr. Wechie also accused Budgit Nigeria, a civil organization that scrutinises state budgets, of failing to scrutinise that of Rivers State because it has allegedly sold out to the state government.

But Budgit Nigeria denied that its integrity has been compromised. It said it has not been able to access the budget of Rivers State because it was never published.

According to the group, Rivers State was one of the 15 states that they were not able to access their budgets this year.

Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt