Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has denied reports of planned shutdown of oil and gas facilities belonging to International Oil Companies and NNPC Limited in the state, over the banned on federal allocation to the state.
Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja had barred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation, from disbursing further monthly allocations to the Rivers State Government, citing alleged constitutional violations by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
In her ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that Governor Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member House of Assembly breached constitutional protocol, highlighted that since January, Rivers State has received and spent allocations based on an “illegitimate” budget, describing this as a “constitutional aberration.”
Following the court ruling, there has been viral social media reports alleging that Governor Fubara has shut down NNPC and all oil companies in Rivers State, declaring “No Allocation for Rivers State, No Oil for Nigeria.”
The reports went on to claim that that “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.”
But in a swift reaction, the Rivers State Government has denied any planned disruption of oil production in the state, describing the reports as false and a “concocted propaganda from the imagination of the author and enemies of the State.
Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, said Governor Fubara remained committed to the rule of law and does not rely on crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.
Johnson in a statement urged Nigerians and the oil industry to discountenance the report which he described as spurious and fake.
The statement reads, “The attention of Rivers State Government has been drawn to a spurious news item circulating on social media on “Gov. Siminalayi Fubara shutting down NNPCL and all oil companies in Rivers State”.
“The report was not only false, but a concocted propaganda from the imagination of the author and enemies of the State. The story was also circulated by an inconsequential and unverified medium.
“Governor Siminalayi Fubara is committed to the rule of law and does not rely on unconventional and crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.
“We therefore enjoin Rivers people and well-meaning Nigerians to discountenance the spurious and fake report as Governor Fubara at no time contemplated and/or directed such needless order of shutting down the economy for any reason.”
