The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, OAGF has confirmed that Rivers State will receive October allocation from the Federal Government against earlier stance that the will stop flowing.
This is even as the Office has now confirmed that the judgement of Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered on 30th October, 2024 in favour of the factional House of Assembly members has been appealed against.
Having been appealed, the OAGF said, will entitle the Rivers to be paid their allocation until further development to the contrary, stating that they will adhere strictly to Court orders.
Director of Press and Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, said, “We are going to obey court order.
“Since there is a notice of appeal, the notice of appeal has overridden the earlier court judgment. So far, it is a court order that we will obey; if there is a notice of appeal, Rivers will be paid.”
The Federal High Court earlier ruled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly was unconstitutional, adding that allocations received and spent since January, 2024 were based on an illegitimate budget, describing it as a “constitutional aberration.”
Justie Abdulmalik in her judgment in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2024, declared that decisions made by the four-member Fubara-backed Assembly were void, referencing prior rulings by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal that had annulled its authority.
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.
Crisis has rocked Rivers State House of Assembly involving a faction led by Martin Amaewhule loyal to the former State Governor and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and the incumbent Governor Siminalaya Fubara who has four members loyal to him.
