Court Stops Ebonyi LGs’ Allocations Over Judgement Disobedience

A Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki has restrained the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Federal Ministry of Finance from releasing allocations and other entitlements of the 13 Local Government Councils of Ebonyi State until the state government obeys the court judgement nullifying the July 30, 2022 Local Government Council elections.

Some aggrieved individuals, namely; Otu Collins Eleri, Nelson Eze, Akaa Ikechikwu, Micheal Ali, and Isu Amaechi, had in a suit No: FHC/AI/CS/151, dragged the Ebonyi State government, the State Assembly, INEC and the Attorney-General of the State to the Federal High Court, Abakaliki, for not giving all the aspirants a level playing ground during the LG election.

The court, presided over by Justice Fatun Riman on August 25, 2022, in its ruling, said it was undemocratic and unlawful to conduct an election in the local government areas without availing the plaintiffs of the extant laws meant to regulate the exercise, and consequently nullified the election.

But despite the nullification of the election, the Ebonyi State government had gone ahead to inaugurate the elected council officials.

Miffed by the action of the government, the plaintiffs returned to court to request it to give effect to its earlier judgement nullifying the election.

Consequently, the Presiding Judge, Justice Fatun Riman, on Friday, ordered the RMAFC, the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance to, henceforth, withhold the allocation or appropriation of fund for the 13 councils of Ebonyi State, until the state government obeys the court judgement.

Justice Riman reiterated that the LG election held in Ebonyi on July 30 2022, remained nullified as it contravened the constitution of the Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists in Abakaliki shortly after the judgement, counsel for the plaintiffs, Chief Mudi Erhenede, said the Federal High Court judgement superseded any other judgement in the same subject matter.

He said, “Two major things happened today in the court. One is in connection with the local government areas elections in Ebonyi State. And other concerns the PDP as a political party.

“You know, sometime ago in August 25, 2022, the Federal High Court gave a judgement nullifying the local government areas elections that were held in the state. Irrespective of that judgement, the government of the day in its wisdom went ahead and inaugurated the 13 individuals as chairmen of the 13 local government areas in Ebonyi State.

“As law-abiding individuals, my clients came back to court because, in that earlier judgement, the court declared the election held by the EBSIEC as unconstitutional, null, void and of no use. The court also declared that the tenure of the chairmen of local governments who have now been forced out of office will expire in August 2023.

“That earlier judgement was disobeyed by the government of Ebonyi State. And how else do we fight it, we came back to this court to give effect because when court makes declarations, you can come back to the same court to give effect to that declaration it has made.

“We came back to this court to give effect to that earlier judgement, and that election that was pronounced unconstitutional.

In the judgement today, the court has agreed that the Ebonyi State High Court has no powers to override or set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court because it is not an Appeal Court.

“And the court granted our reliefs, to the effect that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal commission, RMAFC, should stop appropriation of funds to the LGAs in Ebonyi because the are not been run as required by section 7 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.

“Those people who are parading themselves as chairmen are not there legally. They were appointed by whoever that appointed them. The CBN, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance are all defendants in this suits.”