Rivers To Receive October Allocation, Says Accountant General; ‘Stay Of Execution Order Paves The Way’

The Federal Government has not stopped disbursement monthly allocations fund to Rivers State, according to Mr. Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation. This statement comes in response to recent reports on some online platforms suggesting otherwise.

Mokwa explained that “disbursement of October allocation to states and local governments by FAAC is ongoing” and that “Rivers State will benefit because of a subsisting appeal/stay of execution order.”

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, reserved judgments on Friday in five separate appeals arising from the judgments of a Federal High Court in Abuja regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. One of these appeals challenges the High Court’s judgment that stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing federal allocation to the state.

On October 30th, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court had ordered the CBN to stop releasing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State government. The court held that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January, based on a budget passed by a four-member Rivers State House of Assembly, was unconstitutional.

The judge restrained the CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank from allowing Fubara to access funds from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account. She also issued an injunction restraining Fubara and the state’s Accountant General from authorizing withdrawals from state bank accounts until a budget is passed by an appropriate House of Assembly.

The Court of Appeal is expected to deliver its judgments on a date to be communicated to the parties involved in the appeals. Meanwhile, the Federal Government maintains that Rivers State will continue to receive its monthly allocations pending the outcome of the appeals process.