In response to the recent Federal High Court judgment in Abuja regarding the Rivers State funds, the National Democratic and Change Coalition (NDCC) has urged Governor Siminalayi Fubara to return all funds spent without proper appropriation back to the state’s treasury.
Expressing satisfaction with the ruling, the Coalition stated that the people of Rivers State had finally received justice and that their concerns had been validated.
On Wednesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt any further monthly allocations to the Rivers State Government, citing Governor Fubara’s alleged constitutional violations.
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Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that Governor Fubara’s submission of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly was a constitutional breach.
The court also issued an order prohibiting the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, and the state’s accounts at Zenith Bank and Access Bank from releasing funds to Fubara.
In a press release signed by Coalition President John Uloko, Esq., the group praised Justice Abdulmalik’s decision, stating that since January 2024, Rivers State has received and spent allocations based on an “illegitimate” budget, calling it a “constitutional aberration.”
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The statement said, “The NDCC, made up of a group of lawyers, has always been of the view that what is going on in Rivers State is a theatre of the absurd that persistently violates the constitution, stands logic on its head and even defies mathematical reasoning to the extent that four members were allowed to constitute themselves into a House of Assembly that is meant to have 32 members”.
“We, therefore, commend Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja for holding that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget before a four-member Rivers House of Assembly insulted the constitutional provision.
“This ruling is a victory for democracy and will teach rogue governors the bitter lesson that the Constitution of the Federal Republic must be respected and the sanctity of our democratic institutions upheld irrespective of their political desperation. Operating an illegal State Assembly of four men by any Governor is something everyone should condemn in totality and welcome the court’s judgment.
“In the wake of this judgement, NDCC urges Governor Fubara to immediately reverse all his decisions and actions based on the illegitimate Assembly since they all suffer the same defect as the budget the court threw out.
“The Governor must also strongly consider refunding all the Rivers States’ funds illegally expended from January to date.
“We further advise Governor Fubara to urgently do the needful by resubmitting the state’s budget to the legitimate Rivers State House of Assembly for due process to be followed so that governance is not truncated and the people plunged into more misery than they have already endured from the Governor being absorbed in his political sabre-rattling.
“Finally, Governor Fubara must allow Rivers State to breathe by stopping all the unnecessary squabbling that has served no useful purpose”, the Coalition added.
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