BREAKING: Supreme Court Freezes Rivers’ Fund Allocation, Orders 27 Pro-Wike Lawmakers’ Immediate Return

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The Accountant General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been directed by the Supreme Court to immediately cease further cash allocations to the Rivers State administration.

According to reports, the highest court ordered that the injunction stay in effect until Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, stops all of his unlawful, illegal, and unconstitutional actions.

In particular, the court decided that unless a legitimate Appropriation Law is passed during the Martin Amaewhule speakership, no funds can be issued to the state government.

The Supreme Court also mandated that the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly immediately return to their duties in a ruling handed down by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim on Friday.

The five-member panel of justices, presided over by Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, unanimously declared all of Governor Fubara’s actions illegal.

The governor was chastised by the highest court for committing the crime of destroying the House of Assembly without consequence in order to keep the 27 lawmakers from convening and conducting their legitimate business.

In addition, Justice Agim mandated that the illegally redeployed Clerk and Deputy Clerk be permitted to return to work with the House of Assembly staff.

Under the pretext of unfounded worries of impeachment, the court ruled that Governor Fubara’s decision to operate with just four of the 32 members of the House of Assembly was abnormal.

The justices claimed that Fubara collapsed the House of Assembly through his illegal actions and violated the rule of law by abusing his immunity under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

The Supreme Court upheld the rulings of the Federal High Court in Abuja and the Court of Appeal, which had ruled that the proceedings taken against the 27 members of the House of Assembly were illegitimate and unlawful.

Fubara was ordered to pay N10 million to the House of Assembly and the 27 members who brought the lawsuit against him.

The court determined that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s receipt and distribution of monthly allocations since January of this year constitute a constitutional anomaly that cannot be permitted to persist.

Last year, Federal High Court Justice Joyce Abdulmalik declared that Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to the four-member Rivers House of Assembly violated constitutional norms.

The judge specifically declared that Fubara had committed flagrant violations of the 1999 Constitution, which he had vowed to uphold, by enacting an illegal budget.

As a result, the judge had barred Fubara from accessing funds from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account through the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank.

More details later.


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