The Workplace of the Accountant-Normal of the Federation says it would adhere to court docket orders concerning the disbursement of federal allocations to Rivers State, following latest authorized controversies surrounding the state’s monetary entitlements.
Talking to The PUNCH on Friday, the Director of Press and Public Relations on the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, stated, “We’re going to obey court docket order.
“Since there’s a discover of attraction, the discover of attraction has overridden the sooner court docket judgment. Up to now, it’s a court docket order that we are going to obey; if there’s a discover of attraction, Rivers will likely be paid.”
The reassurance comes amid a Federal Excessive Courtroom ruling on October 30, 2024, which directed the Central Financial institution of Nigeria to withhold additional month-to-month allocations to Rivers State.
The court docket dominated that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 funds to a four-member Home of Meeting was unconstitutional.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who delivered the judgment, said that since January 2024, allocations obtained and spent by the state have been primarily based on an illegitimate funds, describing it as a “constitutional aberration.”
The ruling raised questions over the legitimacy of the State Home of Meeting’s composition and its authority to approve budgets.
The decide contended that the governor’s actions ignored constitutional necessities for funds approval by a totally constituted Home of Meeting.
Delivering judgment in go well with FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2024, Justice Abdulmalik declared that selections made by the four-member Fubara-backed Meeting have been void, referencing prior rulings by the Federal Excessive Courtroom and the Courtroom of Attraction that had annulled its authority.
The ruling additionally held that Fubara’s actions violated Sections 91 and 96 of the 1999 Structure, and warned that any continued bypassing of legislative processes constituted an affront to the rule of regulation.
The court docket’s choice adopted a go well with filed by the State Home of Meeting faction led by Martin Amaewhule, difficult the legitimacy of the four-member faction loyal to Fubara.
The Amaewhule-led Meeting had earlier declared in July that every one state expenditures can be halted till the governor resubmitted his funds to the reputable legislative physique.
Justice Abdulmalik denied a request to remain the proceedings, dismissing the appliance as “frivolous and vexatious.” She additionally refused to recuse herself from the case, rejecting the defence’s allegations of bias.
Nevertheless, the Rivers State Authorities swiftly filed a discover of attraction in opposition to the ruling.
This got here because the governor celebrated one of many failed makes an attempt to question him by the Amaewhule-led state Meeting faction loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The state Commissioner for Data and Communications, Joseph Johnson, earlier instructed The PUNCH that the judgment had been appealed, expressing optimism that the Attraction Courtroom would upturn the judgment.
He stated the tips to the anticipated judgment have been obtrusive, including that they have been unperturbed as they’d already instituted an attraction in opposition to the Federal Excessive Courtroom’s judgment.
The OAGF has now confirmed that the attraction successfully overrides the sooner court docket choice, making certain that allocations to the state will proceed pending the ultimate final result of the authorized course of.