Senate Halts Debate on Exclusion of Anambra-Imo River Basin from 2025 Budget

In a dramatic turn during Thursday’s plenary, the Nigerian Senate stood down a motion addressing the exclusion of the Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority from the N380 billion earmarked in the 2025 Appropriation Act for nationwide irrigation and agricultural infrastructure projects.

The motion was initially raised by Senator Kenneth Eze (APC–Ebonyi), who decried the omission as a grave injustice to the South-East region—home to the only river basin authority not captured in the national development plan.

“This is not just an administrative oversight; it is a glaring contradiction of the principles of equity and balanced development enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution,” Eze said. He warned that the exclusion could fuel long-standing sentiments of marginalisation and undermine President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.

Citing Sections 14(3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the senator stressed the constitutional obligation of the National Assembly to ensure fairness in the distribution of national resources.
He also noted that the region’s vast arable land and significant contributions to Nigeria’s agricultural output made its inclusion in the irrigation project not only logical but necessary.

“The South-East has historically played a vital role in food production with crops like cassava, rice, yam, and vegetables. Excluding it from such a critical national intervention is both economically counterproductive and politically insensitive,” Eze argued.

But after an emotional debate from senators across party lines, including Osita Ngwu (PDP–Enugu), Adamu Aliero (APC–Kebbi), and Danjuma Goje (APC–Gombe), the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC–Ekiti), called for caution. He appealed for the Senate leadership to interface directly with the Minister of Water Resources to resolve the matter diplomatically before it escalates.

“Every geopolitical zone has concerns deserving of attention,” Bamidele said. “Let the Senate leadership engage with the relevant ministry to ensure equity without politicising the issue.”

His motion to stand down further debate was seconded by Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP–Benue), and subsequently adopted by the Senate.

The development leaves the fate of the Anambra-Imo River Basin—and by extension, critical agricultural projects in the South-East—hanging in the balance as the nation looks to scale up its food security and job creation strategies.