Ikenga Ugochinyere, a federal lawmaker, has expressed his concerns after the Federal High Court in Abuja reserved judgement in the suit filed by the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, seeking to stop Rivers State fund allocation
In a live coverage by Symfoni TV from 3:58, Ugochinyere disclosed that he had previously warned of a plan to seize statutory allocation intended for Rivers State and the 23 local government areas of the state, which he argued could be an attempt to unseat Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
He mentioned that this approach would primarily harm the people of Rivers by disrupting essential services. He argued that withholding these funds would prevent the state from fulfilling its constitutional duty to protect lives and property, as outlined in Section 14 of the constitution.
In Ugochinyere’s words: “I said it 2 weeks ago that the next plan is to seize statutory revenue of Rivers State and local government areas, and you think that can lead to removing Fubara from office? You are suffering Rivers people. If you have the numbers, if you have the legitimacy you can go for impeachment. A revenue that will be used to pay workers, to pay nurses, teachers and used to do roads and also maintain security. What is the primary response of government under section 14? Protection of lives and property. You want to seize that statutory revenue and make sure that primary constitutional function is not going to be carried out?”