From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A group of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders, under the aegis of the Conference of Professionals in PDP (CP-PDP), has cautioned the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), to steer clear of the statutory allocation and all other funds accruable to the state.
The stakeholders, in a statement by its Protem National Coordinator, Obinna Nwachukwu, said Ibas does not have any constitutional backing to disburse allocations or any funds accruable to Rivers State.
President Bola Tinubu recently declared emergency rule in Rivers State, suspended the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, as well as the state House of Assembly, and appointed Ibas as Sole Administrator for six months.
Nonetheless, the group said Ibas should be mindful of the provisions of Section 120(3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, which state that: “No money shall be withdrawn from any public fund of the state, other than the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state unless the issue of these monies has been authorised by a law of the House of Assembly of the state.”
“No money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state or any other public fund of the state except in the manner prescribed by the House of Assembly.”
It added that “Section 121(1) of the 1999 Constitution is clear in empowering only the democratically elected governor of the state to prepare and lay the state’s revenue and expenditure estimates before the state House of Assembly for appropriation and authorisation for spending.
“Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) should note that his appointment by President Tinubu as Sole Administrator of Rivers State, even with the endorsement of the National Assembly, remains illegal as it is completely inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, with specific reference to Section 5(2), which provides that the executive powers of a state shall be vested only in the democratically elected governor of the state.”