FG noted that there is a subsisting stay of execution order on a High Court judgement stopping CBN from releasing funds to the state
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Federal Government has refuted claims that it has stopped disbursement of funds to Rivers State as reported by some media outfits on Friday.
This was disclosed by the Director of Press in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, while speaking with Tribune.
According to him, the “disbursement of October allocation to states and local governments by FAAC is ongoing.”
He went on to clarify that “Rivers State will benefit because of a subsisting appeal/stay of execution order.”
FG was reacting to media reports which claimed that the Accountant General’s office halted allocation to the Governor Sim Fubara-led administration after Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court, Abuja stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing funds to Rivers State government in a judgement delivered on October 30.
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The court held that the receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January this year by Governor Fubara is a constitutional summersault and aberration that must not be allowed to continue.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division on Friday, reserved judgements in five separate appeals arising from the judgements of the Federal High Court in Abuja on the Rivers State government political crisis.
One of the appeals is against the judgement of the High Court which stopped the CBN from releasing federal allocation to Rivers State.
The presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Justice Hamma Barka reserved the judgements to a date that would be communicated to the parties after all processes filed in the appeals were adopted by counsel.
The appeals are, CA/ABJ/CV/ 1277/2024, CA/ABJ/CV/ 1303/2024, CA/ABJ/CV/1293/2024, CA/ABJ/CV/1287/2024 filed against the judgements of the Federal High Court, Abuja delivered on October 30, 2024 and appeal number, CA/ABJ/CV/ 1196/2024 against the judgement delivered by same Federal High Court on October 2, 2024.
Earlier, while adopting his briefs of argument in the appeal, Yusuf Ali, SAN representing Governor Fubara in appeal number CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024 prayed the court to consolidate the five appeals, a request the court granted.
