Rivers Governor Fubara to Appeal Court Ruling on Assembly Leadership.
Rivers State Governor Siminialayi Fubara has directed his legal team to appeal the recent decision of the Appeal Court and to seek a stay of execution of that ruling. The Governor asserted that the court’s decision, issued on Thursday in Abuja, did not reinstate the Assembly headed by Martin Amaewhule.
In a statement released by Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Governor Fubara highlighted the political turmoil within the Rivers State House of Assembly. He noted that Amaewhule, alongside 26 others, had switched political parties on December 11, 2023.
On October 10, 2024, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, dismissed Appeal No. CA/ABJ/133/CS/2024, which was filed by Governor Fubara against a previous judgment from the Federal High Court, Abuja, related to Suit No. FHC/ABJ/133/CS/2023, delivered on January 22, 2024.
Governor Fubara detailed that following a failed impeachment attempt in October 2023, the Rivers State House of Assembly became divided into two factions.
The faction led by Martin Amaewhule subsequently approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, filing Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023 on November 29, 2023.
He pointed out that on December 11, 2023, Amaewhule and the other members defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party that sponsored their election during the 2023 Legislative Assembly elections, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the Governor, by virtue of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, Amaewhule and the other defectors automatically forfeited their seats in the Assembly on the day of their defection, as this provision is self-executing and does not require a court order.
Fubara further stated that on December 13, 2023, he presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly, led at that time by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, who was acknowledged as the Speaker.
The Appropriation Bill was subsequently passed into law, thereby becoming the Appropriation Law of 2024. He emphasized that an Appropriation Law constitutes a state law within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Rivers State.
