The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to appeal for the immediate reversal of a judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which ordered the seizure of statutory allocations to Rivers State Government.
Naturenex reported on Wednesday that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Abuja Federal High Court declared that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget before a four-member Rivers House of Assembly contradicted Constitutional provisions.
She criticized Fubara’s ongoing receipt and use of monthly federal allocations since January, calling it a Constitutional violation that cannot be permitted.
Justice Abdulmalik further ruled that the implementation of an unauthorized budget by Fubara amounted to a severe breach of the 1999 Constitution.
In a post via his X handle, Peter Obi noted that he often refrains from name-calling or personal disputes, but the court judgment halting allocations to Rivers state and the resulting consequences demand attention.
Peter Obi stated that court judgment risks pushing citizens of Rivers State into distress and untimely deaths by compounding their daily challenges.
He wrote, “In my political trajectory, I have consistently refrained from name-calling or engaging in personal disputes, choosing instead to focus on issues that directly impact the masses, particularly the suffering poor of Nigeria.
“Despite the national attention the Rivers state crisis has gained, I have largely stayed away from matters specific to a state, but a recent court judgment halting allocations to the state—and the resulting consequences—demands attention.
“This curious decision now calls upon every well-meaning individual Nigerian to appeal for its immediate reversal.
“Consider the pensioner struggling to survive on a meager income alongside the health workers, school teachers, civil servants, and everyday citizens whose lives are already marked by severe hardship.
“How much more can they endure? This latest development risks pushing them even further into distress—even into untimely deaths—by compounding the challenges they face each day.
“As leaders—whether in the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial our decisions, and actions should be guided by a commitment to the well being of the less privileged and vulnerable among us.
“As we work toward a better future for all, we must genuinely care about the poor and prioritize the well-being of every Nigerian. What we do today should lay the foundation for a new Nigeria that is possible.”
