JUST-IN: Court of Appeal Vacates Order Stopping Allocations to Rivers State Amid Wike-Fubara Feud

The Appeal Court, Abuja, has set aside all orders restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation (AGF) from releasing funds to the Rivers state government.

As reported by Blueprint newspaper, the appeal court in a judgement delivered on Friday, December 13, 2024, by Justice Barka said the federal high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit seeking to seize Rivers state allocation in the first place and that mere listing of federal agencies does not confer unrestricted jurisdiction on the federal high court.

The Guardian newspaper also noted the development.

The court also held that the subject matter which is the appropriation issue of a state should not have been entertained.

Power tussle between Wike, Fubara

Legit reports that the political rift between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, has battered the Rivers house of assembly, splitting lawmakers into two factions – one loyal to Wike and the other to Fubara.

Besides the state assembly, the feud has also divided the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state into two camps and has disrupted governance in the state.

Read more Rivers-related news:

Wike vs Fubara: “It didn’t just start”, expert

Earlier, Legit reported that a political analyst, Segun Akinleye, explained “the chains of illegality sweeping over Rivers state”.

Akinleye, in an interview with Legit, asserted that the present political crisis in the prominent south-south state is “a result of 2023 where Wike showed that ‘anything goes'”.