Breaking: Supreme Court stops Rivers allocations, recognizes pro-Wike lawmakers

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant General of the Federation to stop releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers State forthwith.

In a judgment handed down, the apex court also ordered that the members of the Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly should remain as lawmakers.

The five-member panel of the Supreme Court justices invalidated and faulted the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal which vacated the order that stopped the release of funds to Rivers State from the consolidated revenue despite the failure of Governor Siminalaye Fubara’s to re-present the 2024 Appropriation Bill of the state before Martins Amaewhule-led House.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement, rebuked Governor Fubara for disobeying a subsisting court order mandating him to present the Appropriation Bill to the valid Assembly.

The justices ruled that the 27 lawmakers who were alleged to have defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) are still valid members of the Rivers Assembly, pending the final determination of their status.