The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) says it will adhere to court orders regarding the disbursement of federal allocations to Rivers State, following recent legal battles surrounding the state’s financial entitlements.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, said, “We are going to obey court order.
“Since there is a notice of appeal, the notice of appeal has overridden the earlier court judgment. So far, it is a court order that we will obey; if there is a notice of appeal, Rivers will be paid.”
The promise comes in the wake of a Federal High Court order on October 30, 2024, that directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to withhold additional monthly allocations to Rivers State.
The court determined that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly was illegal.
The judgement was issued by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who ruled that since January 2024, the state’s allocations have been based on an invalid budget, which she described as a “constitutional aberration.”
The verdict called into doubt the legitimacy of the State House of Assembly’s composition and budget-approval authority.
The judge argued that the governor’s actions violated constitutional requirements for budget approval by a fully constituted House of Assembly.
Justice Abdulmalik declared that decisions made by the four-member Fubara-backed Assembly were void, citing prior orders by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal that had nullified its power.
The verdict also stated that Fubara’s conduct violated Sections 91 and 96 of the 1999 Constitution and warned that any further circumvention of legislative processes was an affront to the rule of law.
The court’s judgement came in response to a lawsuit filed by the State House of Assembly faction led by Martin Amaewhule, which challenged the validity of the four-member faction loyal to Fubara.
The Amaewhule-led Assembly had already decided in July that all state expenditures would be suspended until the governor resubmitted his budget to the proper legislative body.
Justice Abdulmalik refused the motion to suspend the proceedings, calling it “frivolous and vexatious.” She also declined to disqualify herself from the case, denying the defence’s claims of bias.
However, the Rivers State Government promptly launched an appeal against the verdict.
This occurred when the governor commemorated one of the failed attempts to impeach him by the Amaewhule-led state assembly party loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
The state commissioner for information and communications, Joseph Johnson, previously informed The Press that the judgement had been appealed, expressing confidence that the appeals court would overturn it.
He said the hints to the upcoming judgement were obvious, but they were unconcerned because they had already filed an appeal against the Federal High Court’s decision.
The OAGF has now acknowledged that the appeal effectively trumps the previous court ruling, ensuring that state allocations will continue awaiting the result of the legal process.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")