Rivers Allocations: Fubara Asks Appeal Court to Urgently Overturn High Court Order, Gives Reasons

• Governor Siminalayi Fubara has urged the Court of Appeal to overturn a Federal High Court ruling that blocked Rivers State's monthly allocations
• The dispute arose from claims by a faction of the Rivers Assembly, accusing Fubara of defying court orders on the 2024 budget, which he denied
• The appellate court has consolidated appeals and reserved judgment after hearing arguments on November 22

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has called on the Court of Appeal in Abuja to overturn a Federal High Court ruling that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing the state’s monthly allocations.

Legit.ng reported that this case stemmed from the high court ruling of October 30, which halted Rivers’ access to the consolidated revenue account.

Fubara described the judgment as issued "in bad faith" and urged the court to expedite its decision to restore financial operations in the state.

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Fubara was represented by his legal team led by Yusuf Ali, SAN, told the three-member panel led by Justice Hamma Barka.

The governor’s appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024, was among five others brought before the appellate court, including those by the Rivers State Government, the state Accountant-General, and Zenith Bank Plc.

Rift with assembly faction fuels dispute

The initial ruling arose from a suit filed by the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike. The faction claimed Governor Fubara had defied court orders to represent the state’s 2024 budget.

Fubara dismissed the claims, asserting that the Amaewhule-led group ceased to be lawmakers after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Following the adoption of arguments on Friday, November 22, the Justice Barka-led panel reserved judgment, assuring parties that the decision date would be communicated soon.

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Rivers LG election: Appeal court overturns High court's judgement

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that on Thursday, November 21, the Court of Appeal in Abuja nullified the Federal High Court’s decision that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the conduct of the state local government polls which has now been conducted.

Delivering judgement on Thursday, November 21, the special panel led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, held that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, stating that Section 28 of the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states, only federal elections, governorship and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Source: Legit.ng