A Federal High Court in Abuja has barred the Central Bank of Nigeria from disbursing further monthly allocations to the Rivers State Government, citing alleged constitutional violations by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
In her ruling on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik found that Governor Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly breached constitutional protocol.
Justice Abdulmalik highlighted that since January, Rivers State has received and spent allocations based on an “illegitimate” budget, describing this as a “constitutional aberration.”
The court order further restricts the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, and the state’s accounts at Zenith Bank and Access Bank from releasing any funds to Fubara.
The judge contended that the governor’s actions ignored constitutional requirements for budget approval by a fully constituted House of Assembly.
Delivering judgment in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2024, Justice Abdulmalik declared that decisions made by the four-member Fubara-backed assembly were void, referencing prior rulings by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal that had annulled its authority.
Justice Abdulmalik stressed the CBN’s responsibility to ensure that state budgets are approved by a constitutionally recognised House of Assembly before releasing funds.
“Any appropriation bill must pass through the constitutionally recognised House of Assembly,” she stated, “without which any budget implementation is unlawful.”
The ruling also held that Fubara’s actions violated Sections 91 and 96 of the 1999 Constitution, and warned that any continued bypassing of legislative processes constituted an affront to the rule of law.
The court’s decision followed a suit filed by the Rivers House of Assembly faction led by Martin Amaewhule, challenging the legitimacy of the four-member faction loyal to Fubara.
The Amaewhule-led Assembly had earlier declared in July that all state expenditures would be halted until the governor resubmitted his budget to the legitimate legislative body.
Justice Abdulmalik denied a request to stay the proceedings, dismissing the application as “frivolous and vexatious.” She also refused to recuse herself from the case, rejecting the defence’s allegations of bias.
Rivers: Judiciary fostering political crises, says Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, lamented that Nigerian courts are playing a more ignoble role in fostering political crises across the country.
Atiku’s concerns were raised in a press statement issued by his Media Adviser Paul Ibe.
The 2023 Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party was reacting to Wednesday’s judgment by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja barring the Federal Government from releasing further monthly allocations to Rivers State.
Reacting, the former Vice President warned the judiciary against causing turmoil in Rivers State. He questioned Justice Joyce Abdulmalik’s decision to issue the order, given that it was widely known that the legality of Rivers State’s 2024 budget was already under appeal.
He stated, “Last week, the Court of Appeal declared that the Rivers State budget was illegal because it was passed by an inchoate assembly. The court ordered Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the budget afresh.
“The Rivers State Government has already filed a notice of appeal so that the Supreme Court can hear the matter. However, some elements in the Bola Tinubu administration have procured a judgment intended to undermine the Supreme Court.
“Even before the judgment was delivered, legal luminary Femi Falana (SAN) had alerted the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, of possible compromise after house gifts had been presented to judges in Abuja. Sadly, Falana’s warning was ignored.”
Atiku also praised the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, for summoning the judges involved in the Rivers State cases.
However, he urged the Chief Justice to ensure that those who are found at fault are disciplined to help restore the judiciary’s diminishing reputation.
The statement continued “The former Vice President said Nigeria has descended into the theatre of the absurd since the Tinubu administration took office.
“Courts are playing a more ignoble role in fostering political crises within political parties and even in states. From the emirship tussle in Kano State to the Rivers imbroglio where courts are going as far as preventing elections from holding, taking Nigeria back to the dark days of June 12, 1993, when polls were annulled.
“Sadly, under the leadership of those who claim to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy, the country is descending into chaos with conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction flying all over the place while judges are being induced in the name of empowerment and provision of houses.
“The result is that Nigerians are gradually losing confidence in an institution which prides itself as the last hope of the common man. Foreign investors will avoid any place where judgments can be bought by the highest bidder.
“Nigeria should not descend to the Hobessian state of nature where life is short, nasty, and brutish, where citizens opt for self-help. Rivers State accounts for almost 25 per cent of Nigeria’s oil assets. For a country facing an economic crisis worsened by vandalism and banditry, Tinubu should put his 2027 ambition aside and put Nigeria’s interest first.
