The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Frontiers has commended the Federal High Court’s landmark ruling, stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing monthly allocations to the Rivers State Government.
This decision comes after Governor Siminalayi Fubara presented the 2024 budget to a four-member Rivers House of Assembly, violating Sections 91 and 96 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik’s judgement, Governor Fubara’s actions constituted a “constitutional somersault and aberration” that must not continue.
The PDP Youth Frontiers praised the ruling at a press conference on Wednesday, stating that it revives hope in the judiciary as a guardian of Nigeria’s democracy.
The court’s decision declared the four-member assembly’s actions void, referencing prior Federal High Court and Court of Appeal rulings that annulled its authority.
Consequently, Comr. Henry Owolabi, the group’s National Coordinator, demanded an immediate reversal of all decisions made by the illegitimate assembly and a refund of illegally spent funds.
Owolabi also urged Governor Fubara to respect the party that gave him the platform to become governor and to retrace his steps to avoid further constitutional breaches.
He called on the PDP to guide the Rivers State House of Assembly to prevent the people from suffering due to the governor’s actions.
Owolabi emphasised the need for Governor Fubara to take corrective action, warning that persistence in his current path may necessitate further legal action.
He added: “We are pleased that the ruling, in citing constitutional violations by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, was specific in stating that the decisions made by the four-member Fubara-backed assembly were void and referenced prior rulings by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal that had annulled its authority.
“For us, this implies that all other violations that Governor Fubara used the four-man assembly to validate illegally must also be reversed, and this must be done immediately. We shall set up a team to identify and collate all such decisions and then take the necessary steps to ensure they are reversed. We hope Governor Fubara will not persist in his destructive recalcitrance, which might necessitate our going to court to compel him to do the right thing again.
“We hope that Governor Fubara will explore the face-saving chance that this court ruling has provided to retrace his steps and return to respecting the PDP as the platform that magnanimously gave him the platform that made him the Rivers State Governor.
“This timely counsel becomes necessary to avert a situation where the PDP Youth Frontiers is compelled to take far-reaching actions to restore democracy in Rivers State, where the governor’s penchant for constitutional breaches has wholly muddled the waters.
“We call on our great party, the PDP, to take steps to stop further constitutional aberrations by providing the needed political guidance to the Rivers State House of Assembly to properly resume its functions of receiving and passing a legitimate 2024 budget for the state. This ensures that they prevent the state’s people from being plunged into suffering because of the governor’s error.
“The party should also mandate its members in the state house of assembly to cause the parliament to trace all illegally spent funds and seek a refund from Governor Fubara.”
