- As Appeal Court Reserves Judgement On Initial Order
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Federal Government has revealed why it can’t stop disbursement of funds allocation to Rivers State for now.
Many digital newspapers had on Friday morning published stories quoting the AGF’a spokesman to the effect that the Federal government will not remit statutory monthly FAAC allocations to Rivers state because of a subsisting court order to that effect.
But reacting to the viral news, Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, debunked the story stating why Rivers State will receive its monthly allocations like the other states
Mokwa said on Friday night that “disbursement of October allocation to states and local governments by FAAC is ongoing.”
He explained that “Rivers State will benefit because of a subsisting appeal/stay of execution order.”
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division on Friday, reserved judgements in five separate appeals arising from the judgements of a Federal High Court in Abuja on the Rivers State government political crisis.
One of the appeals is against the judgement of the High Court which stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing federal allocation to Rivers State.
The presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Justice Hamma Barka reserved the judgements to a date that would be communicated to the parties after all processes filed in the appeals were adopted by counsel.
The appeals are, CA/ABJ/CV/ 1277/2024, CA/ABJ/CV/ 1303/2024, CA/ABJ/CV/1293/2024, CA/ABJ/CV/1287/2024 filed against the judgements of the Federal High Court, Abuja delivered on October 30, 2024 and appeal number, CA/ABJ/CV/ 1196/2024 against the judgement delivered by same Federal High Court on October 2, 2024.
Earlier, while adopting his briefs of argument in the appeal, Yusuf Ali, SAN representing the Governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara in appeal number CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024 prayed the court to consolidate the five appeals, a request the court granted.
It would be recalled that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court, Abuja had, in a judgement delivered on 30th October stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing monthly financial allocations to Rivers State government.
The court held that the receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January this year by Governor Fubara is a constitutional summersault and aberration that must not be allowed to continue.
Justice Abdulmalik who issued the order in a judgment in the suit filed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and Rt Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule as its Speaker, held that the presentation of the 2024 budget by Fubara before a four-member Rivers State House of Assembly was an affront to the constitutional provision.
The Judge specifically held that Fubara’s action in implementing unlawful budget smacked gross violations of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect and consequently restrained the apex bank, the Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further allowing Fubara to access money from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.
