Bawa Mokwa, spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), confirmed that the suspension of monthly allocations to Rivers State follows a court order barring the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the federal government from disbursing funds to the state.
The order was secured by a faction of the Rivers State Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule. This group filed an originating summons against the state’s executive, led by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, alleging non-compliance with a Federal High Court directive to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to their faction of the Assembly.
Mokwa emphasized that the OAGF would adhere to the court’s directive, maintaining due diligence until a contrary ruling is issued. However, she later referenced a subsisting appeal and suggested the allocation might not be permanently halted.
Revenue allocations, typically managed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), are disbursed to federal, state, and local governments. This process has now been disrupted for Rivers State due to the ongoing legal battle.
Governor Fubara has appealed the Federal High Court’s decision at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to overturn the ruling that restricted the release of his state’s monthly allocation. Represented by Yusuf Ali, SAN, the governor argued that the High Court’s judgment was delivered in bad faith. He urged the appellate court, led by Justice Hamma Barka, to set aside the orders issued by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on October 30, and allow his appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024.
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