Federal Government says the withheld allocation for Rivers State will be released to the Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd) after he resumes office.
Following the crisis in the state, the Supreme Court has withheld the state allocation until the State House Assembly properly appropriates the funds for usage.
On Tuesday President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the House of Assembly.
Briefing State House correspondents on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said the Federal Government would favourably consider releasing the withheld funds if the Rivers administrator made a request for it.
Fagbemi said while fielding questions from the State House correspondents, “If the administrator requests it, I will say it should be released to him.
“And to me, it will be in order for the release of that fund because the event of the extraordinary situation has brought them out of the normal situation of things.”
The AGF lambasted President Tinubu’s critics saying he should have intervened in other ways rather than imposing emergency rule.
“I think the President has acted timeously. He has given the opportunity to all the parties involved to make amends. Before then, he had to assemble them, he had tried to mediate,” Fagbemi said.
