Court Stops Release of Federal Allocations to Rivers State

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the stoppage of the release of monthly federal allocations to Rivers State.

Justice Abdulmalik predicated her action on the grounds that the state government was in violation of the Constitution as regarding the state expenditures.

According to the judge, the current budget being operated by the state was not passed by a lawful arm of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“There is nothing to prove that the governor complied with the law in submitting the 2024 appropriation before a proper parliament.

“The questions raised by the plaintiffs are meritorious to warrant the grant of the injunctive and declarative reliefs sought” , Justice Abdulmalik held.

Specifically, the court pointed out that the Rivers State government missed the point when it failed to accept the fact that the state budget had been invalidated by a Federal High Court, adding that the same judgment nullifying the budget was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja recently.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court had in a judgement nullified the state budget as passed by Rt. Hon Edison Ehie -four member House of Assembly, on the grounds that they were not the authentic state legislators.

Details later….