Marshall Stanley-Uwom, a former Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to block the disbursement of federal allocations to local government councils in Rivers State currently under the administration of a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.).
In the suit filed on April 24 and numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/797/2025, Stanley-Uwom argues that the appointment of unelected officials to manage local government affairs is unconstitutional. He cited Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and a recent Supreme Court ruling affirming the autonomy of local governments.
Among those listed as defendants in the suit are President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice Admiral Ibas, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
Stanley-Uwom maintained that, under the Constitution and the Electoral Act, agencies such as the CBN, the Accountant-General, and FAAC are barred from releasing funds to local councils led by officials who were not elected. He emphasized that democratic elections are mandatory at all levels of government, including the local councils.
Referring to Section 7(1) of the Constitution, he asserted that local governments must be administered only by democratically elected councils and not by caretaker committees, sole administrators, or any other form of appointed officials.
In his plea to the court, Stanley-Uwom, who served as a legislator during Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration, is asking for a declaration that any state of emergency declared in Rivers State has lapsed. He also seeks an order removing Vice Admiral Ibas from office and reinstating the elected leadership.
He further argued that President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency lacked the constitutionally required two-thirds endorsement by the National Assembly. Additionally, he accused Ibas of unauthorized spending and improper appointment of caretaker committees to oversee the local government councils.
At the time of this report, a hearing date for the case had not yet been scheduled.
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