Kehinde Fajobi
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the Federal Government to stop releasing monthly allocations to Rivers State.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must prevent Rivers State from accessing funds from the consolidated revenue account until further notice.
This judgement came in response to a suit filed by a faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Hon. Martins Amaewhule.
In the case, FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24, the plaintiffs named several defendants, including the CBN, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers State Accountant-General, the Rivers Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Chief Judge of Rivers State Justice S.C. Amadi, RSIEC Chairman Justice Adolphus Enebeli (rtd.), and the Rivers State Government.
The Amaewhule-led faction requested the court to withhold federal allocations to Rivers, arguing that Governor Fubara had not complied with a court directive requiring him to submit the 2024 Appropriation Bill to their faction for approval.
The plaintiffs referenced a prior judgement by Justice James Omotosho, which recognised Hon. Amaewhule as the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Justice Omotosho’s ruling invalidated the 2024 budget presented to a four-member faction led by Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo. This decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The faction further alleged that Governor Fubara had been making unauthorised withdrawals from Rivers State’s consolidated revenue fund, in violation of Section 120 of the 1999 Constitution.