A federal high court in Abuja has restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further disbursing financial allocations to the Rivers state government.
The court held that monies from the federation account should not be released to the state pending the passage of a lawful appropriation act by a validly constituted house of assembly.
Joyce Abdulmalik, presiding judge, issued the verdict on Wednesday while delivering judgment on a suit filed by the Rivers state house of assembly led by Martins Amaewhule.
Abdulmalik held that Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers governor, was wrong to have presented the state’s 2024 Appropriation Bill to a five-member assembly “that was not properly constituted”.
BACKGROUND
In December 2023, Fubara presented an N800 billion budget estimate to the Edison Ehie faction of the house of assembly.
The presentation of the budget titled: ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’, took place at the government house.
In July, the Rivers house of assembly and Amaewhule, the factional speaker, instituted the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24 against the CBN and nine others.
The Rivers house of assembly has been polarised following the rift between Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).
The Amaewhule-led faction of the legislature is loyal to Wike.
The plaintiffs listed the CBN, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the accountant-general of the federation (AGF) as first to fourth defendants.
Fubara, accountant-general (AG) of Rivers, Rivers Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), chief judge (CJ) of Rivers, chairman of RSIEC, and government of Rivers state were listed as fifth to tenth defendants.
The Amaewhule faction of the assembly sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the CBN, the commercial banks, and the AGF from honouring any financial instruction from Fubara.
The court had dismissed all the objections raised by the defendants.
Delivering the verdict, the judge held that Fubara’s decision to implement an “unlawful budget” was a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect.
The judge therefore restrained CBN, accountant-general of the federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further allowing Fubara to access money from the consolidated revenue and federation account.
