Rivers to Receive Federal Allocations Amid Ongoing Legal Battle – FG

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has confirmed that it will comply with court orders regarding the disbursement of federal allocations to Rivers State, despite ongoing legal disputes concerning the state’s financial entitlements.

In a statement on Friday, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, emphasized the office’s commitment to following court directives. He explained, “We are going to obey court orders. Since there is a notice of appeal, it has overridden the earlier court judgment. As long as there is a notice of appeal, Rivers State will continue to receive its allocations.”

This statement comes in the wake of a ruling by the Federal High Court on October 30, 2024, which instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold further monthly allocations to Rivers State. The court ruled that the presentation of the state’s 2024 budget by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to a four-member House of Assembly was unconstitutional.

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Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who delivered the judgment, described the budget approval as a “constitutional aberration,” noting that since January 2024, the allocations received and spent by Rivers State were based on an illegitimate budget. The court also questioned the legitimacy of the State House of Assembly’s composition, stating that the governor’s actions violated constitutional requirements for budget approval by a fully constituted Assembly.

In her ruling on suit FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2024, Justice Abdulmalik declared that decisions made by the four-member Assembly backed by Fubara were void, citing previous rulings by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal that had annulled its authority. The court further noted that Fubara’s actions violated Sections 91 and 96 of the 1999 Constitution, warning that any continued bypassing of legislative processes would undermine the rule of law.

The ruling followed a suit filed by the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which had previously challenged the legitimacy of the four-member faction loyal to Governor Fubara. In July, the Amaewhule-led Assembly had declared a halt to all state expenditures until the governor resubmitted his budget to the legitimate legislative body.

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Justice Abdulmalik also dismissed a request to stay the proceedings, calling the application “frivolous and vexatious,” and rejected the defense’s claims of bias, refusing to recuse herself from the case.

However, the Rivers State Government quickly filed a notice of appeal, expressing confidence that the Appeal Court would overturn the decision. State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, had previously stated that the government was unperturbed, with hopes that the appellate court would provide a favorable ruling.

The OAGF has now clarified that, with the appeal in place, the previous court ruling has been superseded, ensuring that Rivers State will continue to receive its allocations until the legal process is fully concluded.

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