Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, has condemned the barring of state allocations to Rivers State.
Obi, in a statement on his verified X page on Friday, lamented the decision of the court, saying it will impoverish the state.
His comment comes after a federal high court sitting in Abuja ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to halt giving Rivers State its federal allocations.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Wednesday stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State Government.
The court ruled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member Rivers House of Assembly violated constitutional provisions.
She called Fubara’s receipt and disbursement of monthly appropriations since January of this year a constitutional offence and aberration that cannot be tolerated.
Reacting to the court ruling, she lamented that the decision will further impose hardship on Rivers State residents who are already suffering as a result of the current economic hardship facing the country.
He called on well-meaning Nigerians to call for the reversal of the decision, while urging the Federal Government to “care about the poor and prioritise the well-being of every Nigerian.”
Obi’s statement reads, “In my political trajectory, I have consistently refrained from name-calling or engaging in personal disputes, choosing instead to focus on issues that directly impact the masses, particularly the suffering poor of Nigeria.
“Despite the national attention the Rivers state crisis has gained, I have largely stayed away from matters specific to a state, but a recent court judgement halting allocations to the state—and the resulting consequences—demands attention.
“This curious decision now calls upon every well-meaning individual Nigerian to appeal for its immediate reversal.
“Consider the pensioner struggling to survive on a meagre income alongside the health workers, school teachers, civil servants, and everyday citizens whose lives are already marked by severe hardship.
“How much more can they endure?
“This latest development risks pushing them even further into distress—even into untimely deaths—by compounding the challenges they face each day.
“As leaders—whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial—our decisions and actions should be guided by a commitment to the well-being of the less privileged and vulnerable among us.
“As we work toward a better future for all, we must genuinely care about the poor and prioritise the well-being of every Nigerian.
“What we do today should lay the foundation for a new Nigeria that is possible.”
