The Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, got a reprieve on Friday as the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, reversed a verdict of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court which abruptly stopped funding for the Rivers State Government over political face-off in the state.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, headed by Hamman Barka, ruled that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit seeking to cut off funding for the Rivers Government on the premise that the 2024 budget had not been formally presented to the Rivers State House of Assembly.
NewsBand reported that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik had, in an October 30 ruling, ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant General of the Federation to stop disbursing funds to the Rivers State Government over alleged constitutional breaches.
She argued that the state’s current budget was not approved by a properly constituted legislative arm, thereby violating the law.
However, not satisfied with the ruling, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state government filled an appeal seeking to overturn the judgment.
They also requested a stay of execution, arguing that the ruling would harm the state’s economy and its residents.
In its decision, the appellate court, led by Justice Hamman Barka, agreed with the appellants that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case. The panel ruled that matters concerning state appropriation fall outside the scope of the Federal High Court’s powers.
The appellate court noted that including federal agencies as parties in the case did not grant the Federal High Court unlimited jurisdiction. It held that the orders issued by Justice Abdulmalik were unconstitutional and void, stressing that the lower court had overreached its authority.
The appeal was allowed, and all orders previously issued by Justice Abdulmalik were set aside.
The original case was lodged by a faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, which had challenged the legality of the 2024 budget presented by Governor Fubara.
The faction argued that the budget was approved by an improperly constituted four-member legislative body loyal to the governor, following the alleged defection of 27 lawmakers to another party.
In her earlier ruling, Justice Abdulmalik declared the governor’s actions unconstitutional, stating that the Rivers State budget had not been lawfully passed by a legitimate House of Assembly. Consequently, she restrained the CBN, the Accountant General, and commercial banks from releasing further allocations to the state.
