The Rivers State Government has disclosed before the High Court in Port Harcourt that more than ₦302 billion was allegedly spent during the six-month administration of former sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), between March and August 2025.
The disclosure emerged in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) lawsuit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which is seeking transparency and accountability over spending during the emergency rule period in the state.
The suit, marked PHC/4153/CS/2025, is pending before Justice S.H. Aprioku of the Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt.
In a counter-affidavit dated March 10, 2026, the Rivers State Accountant-General and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning said the state received ₦253,480,052,907.33 from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025.
According to the court paper, additional receipts of ₦44,868,976,368.32 brought the total funds received within the period to ₦298,349,029,275.65.
However, documents attached to the counter-affidavit — Exhibit DTI (bank statements) and Exhibit DT2 (capital pages of the Government House estimate), allegedly show that total spending during the same period rose to ₦302,352,458,523.07.
In the affidavit, the state government said it was not challenging SERAP’s right to access public records under the FOI Act and had no intention of withholding the requested documents.
“The Defendants/Respondents do not contest SERAP’s right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act and have no intention whatsoever of withholding the requested documents,” the filing stated.
It added that the requested information had now been compiled and released, with the attached exhibits constituting substantial compliance with SERAP’s demand.
The government also clarified that although ₦28 billion was approved for the installation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) at the State House, no expenditure had been incurred on the project, and therefore, no payment records could be produced.
Reacting to the development on Sunday, SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the organisation was reviewing the documents to determine whether the government had fully complied with its FOI request.
“We are studying the large documents on the spending of the over ₦302 billion of FAAC allocations and other funds by the Rivers State government between March and August 2025,” Oluwadare said.
He added that SERAP’s team was conducting a project-by-project review and would decide whether to file a new request for information or amend its court processes.
SERAP’s preliminary assessment of the exhibits indicated that: FAAC inflows stood at ₦253.48 billion, other receipts totalled ₦44.87 billion, total funds received amounted to about ₦298.35 billion, and total expenditure shown in the records was over ₦302.35 billion
According to SERAP, the records also reflected transfers to government entities, payments to individuals through NIP transfers, and repeated disbursements to Government House during the six months.
The organisation said multiple payments to Government House ranged from ₦1.8 million to ₦4.27 billion, including transactions of ₦61.9 million, ₦122 million, ₦170 million, ₦389 million, ₦750 million, ₦850 million, and ₦900 million (recorded repeatedly).
SERAP noted that the largest single transfer of ₦4.27 billion was recorded in August 2025.
The preliminary review further showed that: ₦112.41 billion was reportedly spent on salaries, pensions and overheads, ₦163.44 billion was allocated to ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), and more than ₦106 billion of the MDA allocations was disbursed in August 2025 alone.
SERAP said the concentration of over ₦106 billion in a single month raised questions over the pattern of disbursement.
The group also said ₦26.01 billion was reportedly used to service loans, ₦491.59 million was spent on bank charges, and combined, both figures came to about ₦26.50 billion, and Government House projects are under scrutiny.
On capital projects, SERAP said the exhibits indicated that over ₦2.5 billion was released for the construction of Government House quarters, but only about ₦1.1 billion appeared as actual spending, a revised allocation of ₦2.67 billion was made for office building repairs, while about ₦404 million was reflected as spent, ₦350 million was allocated for canteen and kitchen equipment, though it remained unclear how much was actually released, more than ₦463 million was shown as spent on rehabilitation projects, and one project initially budgeted at ₦800 million appeared to have been revised upward to ₦1.56 billion
SERAP also stated that the account balance as of August 2025 stood at ₦19,929,707,462.66.
In the suit filed on October 31, 2025, SERAP is asking the court to determine whether, under the combined provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, it is entitled to access the records sought from the Rivers State Accountant-General and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
The matter has been adjourned to May 19, 2026, for further hearing.