Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an order on Wednesday to halt the release of federal monthly allocations to Rivers State. Her decision was based on the state’s violation of the Constitution concerning its expenditures.
The judge noted that the current budget being implemented by the state had not been approved by a legitimate arm of the Rivers State House of Assembly. “There is no evidence that the governor adhered to the law by submitting the 2024 appropriation to a proper parliament,” Justice Abdulmalik stated.
She concluded that the concerns raised by the plaintiffs warranted the granting of the requested injunctive and declarative reliefs. The court emphasized that the Rivers State government had failed to recognize that its budget had been invalidated by a previous Federal High Court decision, which was recently upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Justice James Omotosho had earlier nullified the state budget, which was passed by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie and four other members of the House of Assembly, ruling that they were not the legitimate state legislators.
Further details will follow.
