Court Rejects Fubara’s Appeal
Court Rejects Fubara’s Appeal: On Thursday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja
upheld the legitimacy of Hon. Martin Amaewhule as the rightful Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly. This decision came from a three-member panel of Justices who unanimously
validated Amaewhule and his affiliated members as genuine lawmakers in the state.
The court dismissed an appeal brought forth by Governor Siminalaye
Fubara and affirmed a previous ruling made by the Federal High Court on January 22.
This earlier judgment had invalidated the 2024 budget for Rivers State on the grounds that it was not presented to the legally recognized members of the assembly.
The appellate court criticized Governor Fubara for withdrawing a counter-affidavit
he had submitted in response to the legal action initiated by the Amaewhule-led lawmakers.
This withdrawal was seen as a misstep, which ultimately undermined Fubara’s position.
The court ruled that presenting the 2024 Rivers State Appropriation Bill to only four out of the 31 assembly members constituted a serious violation of Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
the dispute
This legal dispute stemmed from a split within the Rivers State Assembly,
largely fueled by tensions between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike,
who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Amid this turmoil,
Fubara chose to present the state’s N800 billion budget to a faction of four lawmakers led by Hon. Edison Ehie, effectively excluding the 26 members aligned with Amaewhule. The Ehie faction declared the seats of the pro-Wike lawmakers vacant after they switched allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and proceeded to pass the budget, which was promptly signed into law by Fubara.
Following a peace agreement facilitated by President Bola Tinubu,
both Fubara and Wike agreed to restore Amaewhule as the legitimate Speaker.
The faction led by Ehie, which had entered the legal fray, withdrew its court
filings and relinquished his Assembly membership. Fubara, adhering to the peace pact, also withdrew his legal challenges but the pro-Wike lawmakers opted to maintain their impeachment notice against him while continuing their legal actions.
the proceedings
During the proceedings, Justice James Omotosho of the high court declared the budget invalid, stating that it had not been properly introduced to the Assembly as required by law.
The judge also condemned Fubara’s actions, which included the demolition of the Assembly complex and the withholding of funds designated for the legislature. Moreover, the court
ruled that the governor’s attempts to redeploy the Clerk and Deputy
Clerk of the Assembly were unconstitutional and expressed that he overstepped his authority by interfering with the Assembly’s operations.
the national assembly
Additionally, the court ruled that the National Assembly could not intervene in the state’s legislative matters without meeting the specific criteria outlined in Section 11 of the 1999 Constitution,
as amended. Consequently, it nullified all actions taken by the Assembly
that did not involve the Amaewhule-led members, including the presentation of the appropriation bill. The court issued an injunction preventing Fubara from obstructing the Assembly’s
functions under Amaewhule’s leadership and mandated that all funds
allocated to the Assembly be released.
The appellate court emphasized the importance of consistency in legal arguments,
stating that Fubara could not simultaneously argue for and against the
legitimacy of the Amaewhule-led lawmakers. It concluded that Fubara’s
appeal was essentially an academic exercise and ordered him to pay N500,000 to each respondent involved in the case, further solidifying the ruling in favor of the Amaewhule faction.