Fubara Says He Never Ordered ‘shutting down NNPCL, Oil Companies In Rivers’

By Adesina Soyooye

Rivers State Governor has distanced himself and Government from a viral news item to the effect that he ordered the shutdown of all NNPCL facilities and those of all other Oil companies in reaction to the stoppage of Federal Allocations to the State as ordered by a Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday.

The Court had ordered the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation and other monetary institutions to stop every allocation to the State allegedly because the 2024 budget which Governor Siminalayi Fubara is implementing is in breach of the Constitution.

The Governor had, on the resignation of majority of Rivers State House of Assembly Members loyal to Wike from the Party under which they were elected, the  Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressive Congress, APC, presented the Budget to only four members of the Assembly who did not decamp.

But the Federal High Court ruled that the four member Assembly before whom the Budget was presented was illegal. The Governor had, earlier been asked to represent the Budget, before a full Assembly even though the State Government has appealed the ruling.

However on Thursday, a story made the rounds in the Social Media  that Fubara has shut down the offices of the NNPCL and other Oil companies in the State in a “tit for tat” manner .

But in a statement issued on his behalf by the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, Governor Fubara asked members of the Public to ignore and dismiss the story fir what it is: MISCHIEF.

Following, the statement.

RE: RIVERS STATE GOVERNOR SIM FUBARA SHUTS DOWN NNPCL

“The attention of Rivers State Government has been drawn to a spurious news item circulating on social media on “Gov. Siminalayi Fubara shutting down NNPCL and all oil companies in Rivers State”.

The report was not only false, but a concocted propaganda from the imagination of the author and enemies of the State. The story was also circulated by an inconsequential and unverified medium.

“Governor Siminalayi Fubara is committed to the rule of law and does not rely on unconventional and crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.

We, therefore, enjoin Rivers people and well-meaning Nigerians to discountenance the spurious and fake report as Governor Fubara at no time contemplated and/or directed such needless order of shutting down the economy for any reason.

“Signed

Warisenibo Joe Johnson

Hon. Commissioner for Information and Communications”