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The Nigerian Senate, Wednesday passed the Rivers State 2025 budget for second reading.
The budget which stood at N1,480,662592,442 trillion was passed for second reading after it was read by the Senate Leader, Senator Michael Bamidele Opeyemi.
Opeyemi said the Senate has since assumed the powers of legislating for Rivers State having been under the State of Emergency.
In his contribution, Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan said, there was a need for the budget to be legislated immediately so that the people of Rivers could feel the presence of government.
Read Also: Nigerian Senate Passes Bill To Establish FMC In Kafanchan
He said, “Mr President, I don’t know under what topic this document is christened but I could see it is about a budget of the state of emergency.
I hereby support that the budget be passed for second reading so that the people of Rivers can feel the presence of government.
In absence of opposition to the bill, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio passed the budget through voice vote and referred it to the Ad-hoc Committee on overseeing Rivers State of Emergency.
In other news, the Senate has passed the Federal Medical Centre Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (SB. 355), paving the way for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre, FMC, in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
Sponsored by Senator Sunday Marshall Katung representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, the bill was introduced to the Senate on February 21, 2024.
Its passage marks a significant step toward addressing the long-standing healthcare challenges in the region.
The sponsor hailed the bill’s passage as a “major turnaround” for Southern Kaduna, which he noted has suffered from limited access to quality medical services.
“The new FMC will help reduce the burden of long-distance travel for specialist care, which often results in delayed treatments and preventable deaths,” he said.
