Rivers govt reacts to alleged shutting down of oil operations by Fubara

The Rivers State Government has refuted a widely circulated social media claim that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has ordered a shutdown of oil operations across the state.

The viral post alleged that Governor Fubara directed the closure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other oil companies operating within Rivers State, following a recent court ruling.

According to the post, “Breaking News: Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara Shuts Down NNPC and All Oil Companies in Rivers State, Declares No Allocation for Rivers State, No Oil for Nigeria.

“In a bold move, Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara has ordered the shutdown of NNPC and all oil companies operating in Rivers State, declaring that without federal allocation for Rivers State, there will be no oil for Nigeria.

“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.”

It should be noted that a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, issued an order restricting the Central Bank of Nigeria from disbursing financial allocations to the Rivers State Government. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the ruling, stating that funds from the federation account should be withheld from Rivers until a lawful appropriation act is passed by a duly constituted House of Assembly.

Following the ruling, the Rivers State Government appealed the decision, expressing confidence that the Court of Appeal would overturn it.

In response to the viral social media post, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, issued a statement on Thursday, denouncing the report as false and misleading.

The statement read, “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 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.”