Governor Siminalayi Fubara has requested that the Court of Appeal in Abuja reverse a decision from the Federal High Court that prohibited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from giving Rivers State its monthly allotment payments.
The governor, accompanied by his legal team under the leadership of Yusuf Ali, SAN, asked a three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Hamma Barka to revoke the High Court order, claiming it was given in bad faith.
He filed an appeal, asking the court to approve his case (CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024) and to overturn the Federal High Court’s Justice Joyce Abdulmalik’s negative rulings in her October 30 ruling.
Concurrent with the plea, the panel led by Justice Barka consolidated five other appeals originating from the same High Court decision.
Zenith Bank Plc, the Rivers State Government, and the Accountant-General of Rivers State are additional appellants in the case with Fubara.
Read Also:DSS Action: Man Detained for Opposing NNPC Policies
The Federal High Court’s Justice Abdulmalik prohibited CBN and the Nigerian government from giving the Rivers State government monthly allocations on October 30, 2024.
The move came after a group in the Rivers State Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule filed an original summons.
In its argument, the Amaewhule-led Assembly claimed that the Rivers State administration, led by Simi Fubara, had not yet complied with a Federal High Court ruling for it to re-present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to voters.
The Federal Government stated on Friday that, in light of the ongoing dispute between Governor Simi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, it has halted the October monthly revenue transfer to Rivers State from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, or FAAC.
