The Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu has confirmed that it has stopped the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue payment to Rivers State.
The development comes amid the ongoing face-off between Governor Simi Fubara and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike.
According to the Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, the decision to stop the payment was made in respect of a court order.
Mokwa disclosed that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) will respect the court order, which barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian government from disbursing monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.
His words: “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.”
He added, “The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”
The court order was obtained by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, who had filed an originating summons against the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara. The Amaewhule faction had alleged that the Rivers State Executive was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
