On Monday, former presidential candidate Peter Obi accused President Bola Tinubu of disobeying the Supreme Court barring the Central Bank of Nigeria and the accountant general of the federation from releasing allocations to Rivers until a properly constituted House of Assembly appropriates the funds.

“What we are witnessing in Rivers State is a brazen disobedience and disregard for the rule of law and our democratic principles,” Mr Obi said in a statement on X. “The decision to release statutory allocations to an appointed Sole Administrator, despite a standing order of the Supreme Court, is not just unlawful — it is a direct challenge to the authority of the highest court of our country.”

Immediately after the controversial suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara for six months and the appointment of Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator in Rivers, the Tinubu government said releasing the state’s withheld allocations to the military administrator would be in order.

On Friday, Mr Ibas confirmed the release of local government allocations withheld under Mr Fubara and directed the heads of local government administration to take all necessary steps to pay the outstanding salaries of council workers.

Mr Obi accused CBN and AGF of colluding with Mr Tinubu to disobey the court order, insisting the decision to release the withheld allocations “raises serious moral intentions, and questions of what is happening in Rivers State.”

“By disregarding the judgment of the Supreme Court, those involved are setting a dangerous precedent. The CBN and AGF, institutions meant to uphold the law, should not be complicit in this disregard for our judiciary. We cannot build a nation where those who swore oaths to uphold our constitution and obey the laws are doing the opposite,” the politician noted.

The Labour Party chieftain further argued that disregarding the rule of law, separation of powers, and judicial decisions threatens the country’s survival and undermines the future of its fragile democracy.

“A country cannot function where the rule of law is trampled upon, where the separation of powers is disregarded, and where judicial decisions are treated as mere suggestions.

“If we continue this way, we are undermining the future of our democracy. We must choose to do the right thing — to respect the law and uphold the principles that bind us as a nation,” Mr Obi warned.