Politics
Appeal Court rulings on Rivers will uphold tenets of federalism in Nigeria – Falana
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Friday applauded the Court of Appeal for setting aside the order that restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing funds to the Rivers State government.
A three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Hamman Barka had earlier on Friday set aside the October 30 order by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, that stopped the CBN and the Accountant-General of the Federation from releasing funds for Governor Siminilayi Fubara’s administration in the state.
The panel its ruling held that the matter was not within the jurisdiction of the lower court to adjudicate.
It declared that the lower court erred by stopping the release of funds to the Rivers State government from the consolidated account.
Falana, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, the judgment as well as the earlier ruling by the appeal court on the local government election in the state are in line with the tenets of federalism outlined in the country’s constitution.
He argued that the cases were for the State High Court and not the Federal High Court.
READ ALSO:Appeal Court sets aside order stopping release of funds to Rivers govt
The lawyer said: “The decision of the Court of Appeal which validated the local government election conducted by the Rivers State Electoral Commission and the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered today which has set aside the decision that the statutory allocation of Rivers State be seized; these two decisions are in line with the tenets of federalism outlined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Court of Appeal is saying that the fact that you joined federal agencies or federal officers to a case that has to do with the revenue or local government election, or internal affairs of a state government cannot confer jurisdiction on the Federal High Court.
“I am convinced that both decisions delivered by the Court of Appeal will go a long way to reinforce the basic tenets of federalism in this country.”
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