November 23,2024.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation says it will adhere to court orders regarding the disbursement of federal allocations to Rivers State, following recent legal controversies surrounding the state’s financial entitlements.
This assurance comes amid a Federal High Court ruling on 30th October 2024, which directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to withhold further monthly allocations to Rivers State.
The court ruled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly was unconstitutional, as Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who delivered the judgment, stated that since January 2024, allocations received and spent by the state were based on an illegitimate budget, describing it as a “constitutional aberration.”
However, the OAGF has now confirmed that the appeal effectively overrides the earlier court decision, ensuring that allocations to the state will continue pending the final outcome of the legal process.
