Rivers Elders Sue Tinubu, AGF, INEC, Others Over Alleged Unlawful Agreement

President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have been summoned before a Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged unlawful agreement concerning the power struggle in Rivers State.

Also listed as respondents in the suit are Governor Fubara, the Rivers State House of Assembly, the Speaker of the House, and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The plaintiffs in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1718/2023, include a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly representing Bonny State Constituency, Victor Jumbo, Senators Bennett Birabi and Andrew Uchendu, Rear Admiral O. P. Fingesi, Ann Kio Briggs, and Emmanuel Deinma.

The grievance of the aggrieved elders revolves around an allegedly unlawful agreement imposed on the Governor in an attempt to resolve the political deadlock in the state.

They argue that the agreement, signed on December 18, was not only illegal but also amounted to an usurpation, nullification, and undermining of the existing relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

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They request the court to determine, among other things, whether President Tinubu, Governor Fubara, and the Rivers State Assembly have the right and entitlement to enter into any agreement that would nullify or undermine the constitutional/legal potency of the provisions of Section 109(I)(g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

They contend that neither President Tinubu nor Governor Fubara possesses the statutory powers to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting fresh elections to replace the 27 Rivers State lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

No specific date has been set for the hearing of the suit yet.