The Supreme Court has been asked by the Bayelsa state government to stop the federal government over the payment of monthly statutory allocation from Soku oil wells to Rivers state.
The Bayelsa government in a suit filed in Abuja is invoking the original jurisdiction of the apex court which enables a state government to sue the federal government directly at the Supreme Court.
In the suit filed against the federal government, Bayelsa state claims that it stands to lose billions of naira accruable to it if the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) pays the allocation to Rivers.
Meanwhile, the state government is also seeking an interlocutory injunction against Akwa Ibom. The state government asked Nigeria’s apex court to stop the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission from deducting statutory allocation in favour of Akwa Ibom state.
However, no date has yet been fixed for the hearing on the matter. Recall that the Bayelsa state government was on Monday, December 16, 2019, ordered by the Federal High Court in Abuja to forfeit Soku oil field to Rivers, which has been proven as the rightful owner.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, ruling in favour of Rivers state, ordered National Boundary Commission (NBC) to correct the error which is contained in its 11th edition of Administrative Map which designated San Bartholomew River as the boundary between the two states, instead of River Santa Barbara.
The court ruled that the commission has no other choice than to obey the 2012 verdict of the Supreme Court which at the time upheld River Santa Barbara as the officially recognised boundary between the states.
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