By Joy Yesufu
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an injunction preventing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State Government.
In her ruling on Wednesday, Justice Abdulmalik deemed the presentation of the 2024 budget by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to a four-member Rivers House of Assembly as a violation of constitutional provisions describing the ongoing receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations by Fubara since January 2024 as a “constitutional somersault” and an aberration that cannot be permitted to continue.
The judge further stated that Fubara’s implementation of an unlawful budget constitutes gross violations of the 1999 Constitution, which he has sworn to uphold.
Consequently, she ordered the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank to restrain Fubara from accessing funds from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.
