Rivers Administrator Affirms Disbursement of Retained Funds

The Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), on Friday, confirmed the release of the withheld revenue allocations to the state.

The Supreme Court on February 28 upheld an earlier ruling which stopped Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation from releasing monthly allocations to Rivers State.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on October 30, 2024, stopped the release of statutory allocations to Rivers State after Governor Siminilayi Fubara failed to re-present the 2024 budget to the state House of Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, a loyalist of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state on Wednesday.

He also suspended the governor, his deputy, and members of the Assembly for six months over the prolonged crisis in the state.

The president, thereafter, appointed Ibas, a former chief of naval staff, as the state’s sole administrator.

The administrator announced the receipt of the funds during a meeting with members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Port Harcourt.

He lamented that people of the South-South are not experiencing the full benefits of the region’s health.

Ibas also promised to prioritise the workers’ welfare.

“I feel the pain of the workers,” he stated.