The Nigerian government has announced the suspension of the October monthly revenue payment from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to Rivers State.
This decision comes amid tensions between Governor Simi Fubara and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike.
Bawa Mokwa, spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, stated that the halt in payments is in compliance with a court order.
Mokwa affirmed that the Office of the Accountant General will adhere to this order, which prohibits the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the federal government from distributing monthly allocations to Rivers State.
He said, “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.”
“The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”
The court order was issued by a split group in the Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule. They had filed a legal request against the Rivers State government, which is headed by Simi Fubara.
The Amaewhule group claimed that the Fubara-led government had not followed a previous court order requiring them to present the 2024 budget to their faction of the Assembly.