There are infractions, and then there are insults. What happened in Rivers State on Friday was both. In a move that defies constitutional logic and democratic decency, the Rivers State Executive Council, through the Governor Fubara Special Adviser on Economic Matters, Prof. Peter Medee, announced the “approval” of a ₦1.854 trillion 2026 budget. Not a proposal to the legislature.
Not a submission for deliberation. An “approval.” As if the Executive Council were the House of Assembly. As if the Constitution were a suggestion. As if democracy were optional.
This is not a semantic error. It is a constitutional abomination.
Under Section 121 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, only the State House of Assembly has the power to pass an appropriation bill. The executive proposes; the legislature disposes. That is the architecture of checks and balances. That is the irreducible minimum of democratic governance.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara knows this. Or at least, he should.
Just months ago, he emerged from a six-month political purgatory, suspended as Executive Governor after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025. The National Assembly ratified the proclamation. The Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality, citing the governance vacuum in Rivers and affirming that the President acted within the bounds of Section 305 of the Constitution. In a scathing rebuke, the apex court noted that Rivers was being run “as though there was no government.”
One would think such a close brush with constitutional collapse would inspire humility. One would expect a renewed commitment to democratic norms. Instead, we are witnessing a relapse into executive lawlessness.
By allowing his cabinet to usurp the powers of the legislature, Fubara has shown that he learnt nothing from his suspension. He has confirmed the worst fears of those who warned that his return to office was not a restoration of order but a postponement of disaster.
This is not about political rivalry. It is about constitutional order. It is about the survival of democracy in one of Nigeria’s most economically strategic states. It is about the rule of law.
Governor Fubara must retrace his steps. He must remember that he is not a monarch. He is not a warlord. He is a public servant, bound by oath to uphold the Constitution. If he cannot respect the separation of powers, he has no business occupying the office of Governor.
The Rivers State House of Assembly must rise to the occasion. This is no time for silence or cowardice, especially not from a legislature that has already shown rare courage in the face of tyranny. The Constitution they swore to defend is under assault. If this brazen usurpation is allowed to stand, then Rivers State is no longer a democracy. It is a fiefdom.
And to Prof. Medee: your academic credentials are not in question, but your judgment is. To stand before the public and declare an executive “approval” of a state budget without a single mention of legislative process is to insult not just your own intellect, but the intelligence of every Nigerian.
Governor Fubara is not a victim. He is the architect of his own crisis. Yes, he found himself in a hostile political terrain. But leadership is not about lamentation, it is about navigation. A wise leader would have sought rapprochement, built bridges, and governed with tact. Instead, Fubara has chosen confrontation, isolation, and now, constitutional delinquency.
This is a dangerous path. Even the President may not be willing to save him this time.
Democracy is not a costume you wear when convenient. It is a covenant you honor, especially when it is hard. Governor Fubara must decide, urgently, whether he wants to be remembered as a democrat or as a despot.
Because history is watching. And this time, it will not be kind.
Credit: Olabode Opeseitan