‘We’ll fight attempt to delay workers salaries’ — NLC rejects court order restricting Rivers allocation

Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has criticised the court order stopping the disbursement of financial allocations to Rivers state.

Ajaero spoke on Friday at a meeting with NLC members in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.

In October, a federal high court in Abuja restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN ) from further releasing financial allocations to the Rivers state government.

The court held that monies from the federation account should not be released to the state pending the passage of a lawful appropriation act by a validly constituted house of assembly.

Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, issued the verdict following a suit filed by the Rivers state house of assembly led by Martins Amaewhule.

Abdulmalik held that Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers state, was wrong to have presented the state’s 2024 Appropriation Bill to a five-member assembly “that was not properly constituted”.

‘WE’LL JOINTLY FIGHT IT’

Ajaero said workers in River state must receive their salaries promptly, adding that the organised labour will oppose any delay.

“Rivers is among the states where workers collect their salaries as and when due. Anything that will make their salaries delayed for a day — we will all jointly fight it,” he said.

“We have heard the cry of our state council on this issue. And as a responsible organisation, we will stand with them.”

In December 2023, Fubara presented an N800 billion budget estimate to the Edison Ehie faction of the house of assembly.

The presentation of the budget titled: ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’, took place at the government house.

In July, the Rivers house of assembly and Amaewhule, the factional speaker, instituted a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24 against the CBN and nine others, asking the court to stop the CBN, commercial banks, and the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) from honouring any financial instruction from Fubara.

Fubara has since appealed the court judgment.