October fund disbursement by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to Rivers State has been halted.
FAAC cites a court order as the reason for withholding the allocation.
Meanwhile, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has challenged the court ruling that banned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and FAAC from disbursing monthly allocations to his state.
The court had banned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from disbursing monthly allocations to the state following Governor Simi Fubara’s failure to comply with the order of a Federal High Court to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the full Rivers State House of Assembly controlled by loyalists to ex-Governor Nyesom Wike, current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking on the withheld funds, Bawa Mokwa, Spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, said the decision to stop the payment was in compliance with the court order.
The court order was obtained by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, who had filed an originating summons against the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara.
The Amaewhule faction had alleged that the Rivers State Executive was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Mokwa, who spoke on Friday, emphasised that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) would respect the court order, following due diligence until a contrary order is issued.
He said, “What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State allocation.
“We are going to follow due diligence as long as there is no contrary order. In case there is a contrary, the status will remain
“The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”
Fubara’s legal team, led by Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN, has filed a motion at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to overturn the ruling.
The ruling, issued by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court on October 30, was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Hon. Martins Amaewhule.
Governor Fubara, however, has argued that the Amaewhule-led faction had ceased to be legitimate lawmakers after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Fubara’s appeal, registered as CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024, was considered alongside five additional appeals stemming from the same case.