Ewor alleged that the state is currently running without a valid budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

During the “thank you” visit of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike to Ahoada East Local Government Area on Wednesday, he said that governance in the state has been crippled by the lack of cooperation between the executive and the legislature, warning that without a duly passed appropriation law, all state expenditures would be unlawful.

‘The government is designed so that there must be an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. The three must work together to be able to deliver the dividends of democracy for the state.

‘As we speak, the state has no budget. Every expenditure we make from now on, from 1 January going forward, is an illegal expenditure.

‘So I will advise them, let them be the leaders they are. Let them communicate, let them open up, let them tell their followers the truth’, he said.

Tension between Fubara and the state House of Assembly heightened in 2025, following a Supreme Court judgement that reinstated the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Assembly and ordered it to resume legislative duties, while also halting statutory allocations to the state until due process was followed.

Following its resumption, the House issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the governor, directing the formal presentation of the 2025 appropriation bill, while faulting the previous signing of an N800 billion budget passed by a rival four-member faction loyal to Fubara.

However, the governor’s attempt to submit the budget at the Assembly complex in March 2025 was stalled after he was denied access by the lawmakers, who claimed there was no formal notification of the governor’s visit, and accused him of ignoring legislative procedure.

The Assembly later adjourned indefinitely, after the governor wrote again, expressing readiness to present the budget, a development that stalled governance and pushed the crisis into preparations for the 2026 appropriation.

Recalling his time as a member of the State House of Assembly, Ewor said that the legislature once passed a budget within one hour to ensure the smooth running of government, insisting that no governor could function effectively without the support of lawmakers.

‘I’m a product of the legislature. I know that the executive cannot function without the legislature. On one of the occasions in this state, we used one hour to pass the state budget to enable the governor to function.

‘So for any governor to think he will succeed, he will work and survive without the legislature, is not correct’, Ewor stated.