THE Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold the Federal Government’s monthly allocation to Rivers State Government.
The presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Wednesday, October 30, maintained that the presentation of the 2024 budget by the Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to four members of the state House of Assembly was an was an aberration and an affront to Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended)
According to the judge, Fubara’s receipt and distribution of monthly allocations since January 2024 was illegal.
She directed Zenith Bank, Access Bank, the CBN, and the Accountant General of the Federation to stop Fubara from getting access to funds from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.
The judge delivered the ruling in response to a lawsuit brought before the court by the Rivers State House of Assembly, headed by Martins Amaewhule.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2024, the plaintiff had sued the CBN, Zenith Bank PLC, Access Bank PLC, the AGF, Fubara, the Accountant General of Rivers State, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSEIC), and the Chief Judge of the state, among others.
The Court had earlier dismissed an application by the state government and other defendants in the suit to stay proceedings, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal already filed before the Court of Appeal.
The ICIR reported that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday, October 10, upheld the Federal High Court’s judgment, delivered by James Omotosho on January 22, affirming that the 2024 Rivers State budget of renewed hope was not presented before members of the State Assembly as required by law.
The court reprimanded the state governor for acting in contravention of the Constitution.
The court ruled that Fubara had committed a flagrant breach of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, by presenting the 2024 Rivers State Appropriation Bill to just four of the Assembly’s 31 members.
The Court, in a unanimous judgment, also affirmed Amaewhule as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and dismissed the appeal filed by the Fubara for lacking in merit.
Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, have been at loggerheads over who controls the PDP structure in the state, with President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to resolve the stalemate yielding no result.
The crisis resulted in 27 House members loyal to Wike defecting to the APC. Enraged by the defection, Fubara declared their seats vacant.
To further demonstrate that he was the one in charge of the state, Fubara subsequently ordered the LGA chairmen elected under Wike to vacate their seats, stating that they had completed their term.
The ensuing crisis led to police taking over the 23 LGA secretariats in the state for months.
Unfazed, Fubara proceeded to conduct a local government election in the state on October 6 against a court order.
The ICIR reported that the crisis in the state turned violent on Monday, October 7, when hoodlums set two LGA headquarters ablaze in the oil-rich state.
Police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, while announcing the police withdrawal from the state’s 23 LGA secretariats, said the organisation would not hesitate to return the officers should the need arise.
The ICIR reported on Sunday, October 6, that the state governor Fubara swore in all the newly-elected 23 local government chairmen shortly after the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) announced the election results for the last local government.
The African People’s Party (APP) won 22 out of the 23 local government chairmanship seats in the state, according to results announced by RSEIC.
A reporter with the ICIR
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