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, Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, found that Governor Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly breached constitutional protocol.

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, 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.

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.

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.

Punch