Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has hailed the judgement of the Court of Appeal setting aside orders restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant General of the Federation from releasing funds to the Rivers State government.
Falana, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said that the judgment as well as the earlier judgment by the same court that validates the recent local government election conducted in Rivers State are in line with the tenets of federalism outlined in Nigeria’s Constitution.
“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,” Falana said.
