Governor Siminalayi Fubara has refuted a viral social media claim suggesting he has halted oil operations in Rivers State.
On Wednesday, a federal high court in Abuja ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop disbursing financial allocations to the Rivers State government.
Presiding Judge Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the ruling while addressing a lawsuit brought by the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martins Amaewhule.
The court ruled that no funds from the federation account should be released to the state until a lawful appropriation act is passed by a validly constituted house of assembly.
The post making the round says: “Breaking News: Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara Shuts Down NNPC and All Oil Companies in Rivers State, Declares “No Allocation for Rivers State, No Oil for Nigeria”. In a bold move, Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara has ordered the shutdown of NNPC and all oil companies operating in Rivers State, declaring that without federal allocation for Rivers State, there will be no oil for Nigeria. Within minutes of the shutdown, Nigeria dropped in the global oil production ranking from 4th to 24th. Governor Fubara has openly challenged Minister Nyesom Wike and President Bola Tinubu to take action against this stance and see Nigeria boil.”
However, quoting the Governor, TheCable reports that the post is false.
“We believe in the rule of law and we have filed an appeal against the high court ruling,” he told TheCable.
“We will see this to a logical conclusion and we believe justice will be done.
“I urge Nigerians to ignore the fake report that I ordered that oil operations be shut down in the state.”
