A member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Justina Emeji, has disclosed that lawmakers in the 10th Assembly received funds for constituency projects during the six-month state of emergency declared in the state in 2025.
Emeji, the Deputy Chief Whip and representative of Emohua Constituency, made the disclosure on Thursday while commissioning the Echonwere Royal Hall at Okporowo Ogbakiri in Emohua Local Government Area.
According to her, the funds were provided for constituency projects during the administration of the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), who oversaw the affairs of the state during the emergency period.
“The fund was given to us for constituency projects during the Emergency Rule. The Speaker encouraged me and other colleagues to go and make our constituents proud so that your people will remember you,” Emeji said.
“This is one of the many projects I have brought to my people, and I am happy,” she added.
President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, resulting in the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu and members of the State House of Assembly for six months. Ibas was appointed Sole Administrator to oversee the affairs of the state during the period. The emergency rule ended on September 17, 2025, with the suspended officials resuming office the following day.
Emeji said she conducted a needs assessment and consulted constituents across the 14 wards of Emohua Local Government Area before selecting the projects.
Apart from the newly commissioned town hall, she said seven other constituency projects were ongoing across the local government.
They include a lodge for National Youth Service Corps members at Oduoha Ogbakiri; a market at Isiodu Emohua; six-classroom blocks at Ibaa Community; teachers’ quarters at Akpabu; and six-classroom blocks each at Egbeda and Ovogo communities.
She said the projects were intended to address identified needs within the communities and improve the welfare of her constituents.
Emeji also announced a N30 million empowerment fund for 150 beneficiaries drawn from the 14 wards of Emohua Local Government Area.
She thanked her colleagues in the Assembly for their support and described them as people of integrity. The lawmaker also commended Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for what she described as his leadership and guidance.
“I want to thank our leader, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for bringing all of us together. We are following in his footsteps in terms of delivering our mandate and guidance. God will bless him and his family,” she said.
Emeji dedicated the Echonwere Royal Hall to her late parents, saying the project fulfilled a long-held aspiration of her father.
The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, congratulated Emeji, describing her as a dependable member of the 10th Assembly and a representative who had responded to the needs of her constituents.
Amaewhule said the town hall was among the projects nominated by Emeji after consultations with residents. “We are here to commission one of the projects nominated by Hon. Justina Emeji for her constituency, which is this town hall right behind me. She nominated these projects after consulting with her people, and they said they want these projects,” he said.
He added that Emeji ensured the project was supervised to completion. Amaewhule said representation was a core responsibility of legislators, requiring them to identify the needs and aspirations of their constituents and work with government to address them.
He further pointed to the seven other projects reportedly being undertaken by Emeji as evidence of what he described as her commitment to her constituents.
The Speaker said he expected more constituency projects to be commissioned across the state before the end of the 10th Assembly and ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amaewhule also used the occasion to speak about the 2027 elections, urging Rivers voters to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and candidates backed by the political coalition led in the state by Nyesom Wike.
He said the people of Rivers State had, in his view, determined the political direction they would take in the next election.
“Rivers people have already decided the way forward. We have a leader, His Excellency Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. He is leading us very well. Going forward next year when we are going to cast our votes in January, Rivers people know where to vote,” Amaewhule said.
He specifically called for support for Tinubu and candidates under the coalition.
“The governorship election is also very important to us, and I have been duly informed that the Emohua people have resolved that next year when it’s time to vote for who will take over in the Brick House, we will vote no other person than Representative Kingsley Ogundu Chinda and his deputy, Hon. Major Jack,” he added.
Amaewhule’s comments were made in the context of his political advocacy ahead of the 2027 elections, rather than as a statement of an established electoral outcome.
The disclosure by Emeji comes against the backdrop of continuing scrutiny of expenditure undertaken during the six-month emergency administration. Following the Assembly’s return from suspension in September 2025, lawmakers called for a review of spending on projects and programmes undertaken during the emergency period.
Emeji’s statement provides a specific account from a serving lawmaker that constituency project funds were made available to members during that period, while the details of the funding arrangements and expenditure remain matters of public interest.
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