The Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly and the Rivers State government have expressed divergent views over the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s appeal in SC/CV/1071/2024.
While members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, are thanking God and the Supreme Court for granting them victory, the state government has insisted that its cases challenging the leadership of the State House of Assembly and the membership of the 27 lawmakers who defected to another party in December 2023 are still before the Supreme Court.
LEADERSHIP recalls that 27 lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), loyal to Wike, had announced their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as part of the fallout from Wike’s frosty relations with his successor and political godson, Governor Fubara.
Acting on this, the governor began engaging with the remaining four members, including presenting the state’s 2024 budget estimates, claiming that the defectors had lost their seats as stipulated in the constitution—a position hotly contested by the Wike-backed lawmakers.
The political crisis led to five litigations pending before the courts. One of these was dismissed on Monday after Governor Fubara withdrew the suit, claiming the outcome would be of no material value since the 2024 budget, on which the suit was predicated, had been fully spent.
But addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt yesterday shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, Amaewhule claimed victory in the suit and said it was a happy day for the people of the state.
He said: “Today, we are happy that the Supreme Court has dismissed the governor’s appeal. This is an excellent development. The Rivers State House of Assembly is pleased with the outcome.
“The people of Rivers State are elated over the Supreme Court’s decision. Today, the Supreme Court has spoken. Let’s wait and see if he will disobey the Supreme Court as he did before. It is a well-considered decision, and we give God the glory.”
However, the state government has insisted that the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday was about the Court of Appeal judgment on re-presenting the 2024 budget before the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
Chief of staff to the governor, Edison Ehie, in a statement made available to the press in Port Harcourt, said that since the 2024 budget had been spent, the governor decided to withdraw his appeal against the judgment because it would be a mere academic exercise to pursue the matter.
He said: “This appeal SC/CV/1071/2024: Governor of Rivers State v Rivers State House of Assembly & Ors, which came up today at the Supreme Court, has become purely academic.
“The case leading to this appeal was before James Omotosho as Suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023, filed on 29th November 2023.
“Suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 pertains to the 2024 budget, which is no longer relevant, the monies appropriated therein having been judiciously spent for the benefit of the good people of Rivers State.
“The 2024 budget was spent by 31st December of the 2024 fiscal year. The appeal is irrelevant in 2025, as a new budget has been passed. The only reasonable thing left to do, in these circumstances, was to withdraw the appeal and have it dismissed.
“It would be most unwise to burden the Honourable Court with academic appeals without practical or utilitarian value.”
Ehie explained that the dismissal of the above case has no bearing on another suit challenging the 27 lawmakers’ continued membership of the state assembly.
He said, “It is important to note that after Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 was filed on 29th November 2023, Martin Chike Amaewhule and his 26 colleagues defected from the PDP to the APC on 11th December 2023. Their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly became vacant.
“This appeal that was withdrawn today has nothing to do with the seats of Martin Chike Amaewhule and his 26 colleagues in the Rivers State House of Assembly. The public should not be taken in by the misleading propaganda of Martin Chike Amaewhule and his 26 colleagues.”
The Supreme Court dismissed the suit by Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, seeking to remove 27 State House of Assembly members.
The governor based his grounds for their removal on their alleged defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Apex Court dismissed the suit in a ruling by Justice Musa Uwani-Abba-Aji following Fubara’s dramatic withdrawal of the appeal through his lead counsel, Yusuf Ali SAN.
In the notice to withdraw the case, Governor Fubara informed the Supreme Court justices that events had overtaken his suit and that the lawmakers were their friends.
The Rivers State House of Assembly and its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, who was represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, did not oppose the request for the withdrawal of the contentious suit.
Following no objections from the parties, the Apex Court dismissed it and awarded N4 million against Fubara to be paid to the House of Assembly and Amaewhule.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the dismissal of the suit, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ken Njemanze said that the coast had finally cleared for the 27 lawmakers to fully take over the House of Assembly.
The senior advocate explained that all steps Fubara took in the absence of the 27 lawmakers, including presenting the 2024 and 2025 budgets to only three lawmakers, among others, had become nullities.
LEADERSHIP recalls that on October 10, 2024, the Court of Appeal had dismissed Fubara’s appeal on the same matter.
Similarly, on 22nd January 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, nullified the passage of Rivers State’s N800 billion 2024 budget by four members of the House of Assembly.
The court had described the bill’s passage by the four lawmakers, led by Hon. Ehie Edison, as an aberration and illegality.
It consequently ordered Governor Fubara to re-present the budget to the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly.
Justice Omotosho, while ruling on an ex-parte motion by the 27 legislators, issued an interim order restraining Fubara and his agents from obstructing the pro-Wike legislators from carrying out their constitutional duties.
However, while the order subsisted, Governor Fubara presented the budget that the four lawmakers loyal to him passed.
The judge had also barred the National Assembly from taking over the Rivers Assembly or accepting or treating any request by Governor Fubara on any matter affecting the Legislature.
Lawyers speak
A senior lawyer, Mr Abdul Balogun, said the courts are there to reverse politicians’ recklessness.
According to him, the Supreme Court has proved itself to be the last hope of aggrieved Nigerians.
“The Supreme Court has always been the last hope of the common Nigerians, and they have never disappointed in that regard. Politicians are used to recklessness in their conduct, and the apex Court has always lived up to expectations,” he said.
Another lawyer, Barrister Eze A. Alozia, said the judgment has once again expanded the law.
“We can’t continue to breach the law and expect to go scot-free. Some may have done it in the past and got away with it, but it should not always be the case, and that’s what the Supreme Court just did today with its pronouncement,” he said.
Verdict Has Nothing To Do With Who Is Rivers Speaker – Falana
For his part, human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, said the Supreme Court verdict on the appeal by the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, against the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly has nothing to do with who was the authentic Speaker of the House.
A panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji had on Monday dismissed the appeal against Amaewhule-led lawmakers following the withdrawal of the suit by Fubara’s counsel, Yusuf Ali, SAN.
Falana who was a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ Monday night said what was determined at the Federal High Court that led to the appeal was the 2024 budget proposal, which Fubara said had already been expended and that there was no need to continue suit.
“When an appeal is dismissed, not on merit but on the basis of withdrawal by the appellant, the question of celebration doesn’t arise. What happened in this case is that the governor of Rivers State instructed his lawyers to withdraw the appeal on the grounds that it had become an academic exercise.
“In other words, the issues are no longer alive, so why do you want to waste the time of the court? The court did not determine who is a speaker or who is not a speaker; no, it didn’t come up,” he said.
Falana also said the three members of the state House of Assembly can carry out legislative functions apart from impeaching the governor, stressing that with their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the other 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly had lost their seats.
Speaking on the clamour for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission, he said the law should be amended to allow the Election Petitions Tribunal to also deal with criminal matters that arise from elections.
“The law has always made adequate provisions. The 2022 Electoral Act made many provisions for electoral offences…
“For instance, in the 2023 election, close to 2000 were arrested for committing one electoral offence or the other. At the end, I think about 700 are being prosecuted. INEC is saying, ‘Our hands are full… we need to allow another (body) to take care of electoral offences.’
“My position is that just as INEC defends petitions, INEC must also have a department to deal with electoral offences. Instead of establishing a court, use Electoral Petitions Tribunal to deal with offences.”
Regarding the recently dismissed Resident Electoral Commissioners, Falana said, “Go and check out; the three RECs are card-carrying members of a political party…So those who will replace them, in line with the provisions of the Constitution, must not be card-carrying members of a political party.”
Supreme Court Judgement Not Against Gov Fubara – Opposition Lawmakers
The opposition coalition in the National Assembly has said the Supreme Court judgement involving Rivers State was not against the governor of Rivers State but in his favour.The apex court, on Monday, dismissed Governor Fubara’s appeal challenging the leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which is led by Martin Amaewhule.But reacting to the verdict through his spokesperson, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere said the verdict was in favour of the governor because it was based on his withdrawal of the appeal through his lead counsel, Yusuf Ali, SAN.
Ugochinyere said Fubara did not lose any cases at the Supreme Court, but only withdrew his appeal over the 2024 budget, which was already spent and executed.
He also noted that no court has ruled in favour of pro-Wike lawmakers, stressing that the governor withdrew his appeal on the 2024 budget because it had expired and the Supreme Court struck it out.
The federal lawmaker assured Nigerians, particularly Rivers people, that Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo was still the authentic speaker.
He said, “Today, the Supreme Court ruled on the Appeal over the 2024 budget voluntarily withdrawn by Gov. Fubara because the 2024 budget cycle has ended, and there is no need to waste time discussing a budget that has been fully spent and implemented.
“The sacked, disgruntled Martin Amaewhule and the Pro-Wike group are jubiliating out of ignorance of what informed the apex court’s decision. For their information and others who care, the Supreme Court judgement was a sequel to the withdrawal of the appeal by Governor Fubara through his lead counsel, Yusuf Ali, SAN. Governor Fubara, in the notice for withdrawal of the case, informed a three-man panel of justices of the Court that events had overtaken his suit.
“For those who don’t know, such events, as mentioned by His Excellency Governor Fubara, include, inter-alia, that the 2024 budget, for instance, has been fully executed and exhausted, with 2025 Appropriation in effect. Hence, the case is statute-barred.”
