The Opposition Lawmakers Coalition has described as a height of judicial rascality the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Federal Government from releasing the monthly allocations to Rivers State from the Federation Account.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik had on Wednesday ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing the monthly allocation funds to the State.
But, reacting to the judgement on Wednesday, the Coalition declared the verdict as a legal coup against the likely outcome of pending appeals at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on the same subject matter.
At a press conference by its National Spokesperson, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, the Coalition described the judgement as a clear evidence that the Federal High Court has gone out of control.
“How can a judge who knows very well that the decamped lawmakers have lost their seats, still go ahead to order for the allocation to be seized in favour of those who have lost their seat while the issues are pending at different courts on whether they should be parading as Lawmakers?
“You want to use the Federal High Court to undermine democracy and constitutional governance. The issue of legality of their decampment is still in court and you are rushing to order that budget be presented to them as who?,” he queried.
The opposition lawmakers said that the decision of Justice Abdulmalik Joyce and Chief Justice of the Federal High Court John Tsoho to proceed with the case despite pending petition against the clear evidence of bias against them showed that there was more to the case than meets the ordinary eye.
“How can petition of bias and evidence be presented before you and you still proceeded. How can you be aware that all the subject matters are before the Appeal Court and Supreme Court and you still went ahead to attempt to do harm and damage to innocent tax paying people of Rivers who did nothing? The Supreme Court has ruled on the sanctity of the LGA and State allocation as a sovereign wealth of the people that can’t be seized as such funds are constitutional and can only be spent on the authority of that State or LGA.
“If the head of the state or LGA is not spending it well or spending it without necessary compliance with laid down regulations, the constitution gives you power to impeach such officer, if you have the numbers and legitimacy. So because the pro-Wike group know they have lost the legitimacy to be called lawmakers or perform legislative functions, they now rushed to court to use the court to attempt to carry out a financial coup against the Rivers people. So, after generating Oil revenue from the backyard of Rivers People, other states will take their own share home and the people that produced the revenue will starve to death ? The allocation is not a political fund or money meant for Gov. Fubara but official revenue of the entire people that covers their economic , health, security and welfare needs.
“Imagine a worker being denied his salary or monthly earning after working for 30 days, imagine oxygen been switched off from hospitals because one man wants to rain down anarchy and constitutional crisis just to attempt to capture the wealth of the people which does not belong to him by using Federal High Court to overthrow the express provisions of the Constitution by attempting to seize their constitutional revenue.
“We have been informed that an appeal has been lodged against this anti-people judgement which is an invitation to anarchy. The opposition calls on Rivers people, workers and citizens to mobilise for a day of protest against the ongoing agenda to use the Federal High Court Abuja and selected judges to create constitutional crisis in Rivers State . Warning that the dark days of the 60s and 80s are been prepared by these actions of political desperadoes and their friends at the Federal High Court, have now reached a boiling point that the Rivers and Nigerian people will rise up and reject vehemently.
“Rivers State is the treasure base of the nation and you can’t embark on a journey to starve the people and think peace can be maintained in such an atmosphere of anarchy.”
