- The stoppage of allocation to the state by the federal government comes amid the perennial feud between Governor Simi Fubara and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike
Amid the political crisis rocking the oil-rich state, Rivers State didn’t receive the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC revenue payment, a federal government official familiar with the matter has said.
The stoppage of allocation to the state by the federal government comes amid the perennial feud between Governor Simi Fubara and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike.
The Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, confirmed the refusal of the Federal Government to disburse to River state the statutory and constitutionally-mandated financial allocation it is entitled to.
The Nigerian Government had on Wednesday announced the approval for the disbursement of N1.1411 trillion as the October 2024 Federation Accounts Allocation Revenue to Federal, State, and local government councils.
However, a report emerged that FAAC revenue in October was not disbursed to Rivers State following a court stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian government from carrying out such action.
Reacting to the development, Mokwa in an interview with DAILY POST said the OAGF as a government agency will respect the court order.
Meanwhile, he stated that the October monthly FAAC revenue has not been disbursed to respective states as of filing the report.
“What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State allocation.
“We are going to follow due diligence as long as there is no contrary order. In case there is a contrary, the status will remain,” he told DAILY POST.
He added, “The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”.
Recall that on October 30, this year, Justice Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court ordered the CBN and the Nigerian government to stop the transfer of monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.
The order was consequent upon an originating summons filed by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule.
The Amaewhule case was based on the grounds that the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara, was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In the past month, the Amaewhule faction, backed by Wike, former Governor of Rivers State, had been at daggers drown with Fubara.
The hitherto cordial and somewhat avuncular relationship between Fubara and Wike quickly turned sour shortly after the former was sworn-in as the governor of the state as a debilitating power tussle over the control of the state’s resources morphed into a destructive perennial political crisis and social upheaval.