Court Grounds Rivers Government, Stops Release Of Monthly Allocation To It

By Adesina Soyooye

A Federal High Court has stopped the release of  all Federal Allocations to Rivers State.

The ruling by the Honourable

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja, given on Wednesday, will literally ground the State.

Justifying her order for the stoppage of the monthly allocation to the State, the Judge said the State is in breach of the Constitution as it concerns State expenditures.

The Judge was of the opinion that the 2024 budget being operated by the State was not passed by a lawful arm of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

She said: “There is nothing to prove that the governor complied with the law in submitting the 2024 appropriation before a proper parliament.

“The questions raised by the plaintiffs are meritorious to warrant the grant of the injunctive and declarative reliefs sought”,

Justice Abdulmalik said.

The Court noted that the Rivers State government was in breach when it “failed to accept the fact that the state budget had been invalidated by a Federal High Court.”

The Court noted that “the same judgment which the budget was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja recently.

Recall that Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court had  nullified the State budget as  deliberated upon and passed by the pro-Governor Siminalayi Fubara led by the Rt. Hon Edison Ehie -four member House of Assembly.